The Iowa governor, Kim Reynolds, broke her neutrality in the Republican primary and endorsed Ron DeSantis for president on Monday, saying she does not believe Donald Trump can win the general election.
“I believe he can’t win,” Reynolds said in an interview with NBC. “And I believe that Ron can.”
The endorsement gives DeSantis the support of a deeply popular governor (she has an 81% approval rating among likely caucus-goers, according to a Des Moines Register/NBC poll). It also gives him fuel as he tries to close a significant gap with the former president in polling, both in Iowa and across the US. Trump is currently polling at 45.6% in Iowa, according to the FiveThirtyEight average of polls, while DeSantis is at 17.1%. The Florida governor is also trying to break away from Nikki Haley, with whom he is battling for second place in the race.
DeSantis is betting his presidential campaign on a strong showing in Iowa, which will hold its caucuses for the GOP nomination on 15 January.
Iowa has long held the first caucuses in the presidential nominating contests and its governors do not typically endorse candidates. Reynolds had previously told others, including Trump, she would stay neutral in the contest, the New York Times reported in July. She reversed that on Monday.
“As a mother and as a grandmother and as an American, I just felt like I couldn’t stand on the sidelines any longer,” she said on Monday, according to the Des Moines Register. “We have too much at stake. Our country is in a world of hurt. The world is a powder keg. And I think it’s just really important that we put the right person in office.”
DeSantis has long sought Reynolds’ support and she has been floated as a potential running mate for him, Trump has publicly criticized her for not showing sufficient gratitude for his efforts to help her win the governorship in 2018.
“It will be the end of her political career in that MAGA would never support her again, just as MAGA will never support DeSanctimonious again,” he said in a post on Truth Social on Monday. “Two extremely disloyal people getting together … they can now remain loyal to each other because nobody else wants them!!!”
Reynolds said on Monday she didn’t think her endorsement would divide the party.
“When this is over, we’re Republicans and we get behind whoever our candidate is,” she told the Des Moines Register. “I happen to think it’s going to be Ron DeSantis. I believe that’s who it’s going to be. But we are Republicans, and when this is done, we get behind whoever our nominee is and move forward.”
