CLIVE, Iowa — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis began his quest to end former President Donald Trump’s reign over the Republican Party, launching his White House bid on Tuesday in a packed church west of Des Moines, Iowa, where he gave voters a close-up look at the Republican alternative to the former president.
Mr. DeSantis launched his bid to more than 1,000 attendees at the Eternity Church in Clive, just west of Des Moines, after a praise-filled introduction by popular conservative Gov. Kim Reynolds.
He pitched an agenda that would reverse Biden administration policies that he said have sent the nation into decline, and mostly stuck to criticizing the current president, not his number-one GOP opponent, Mr. Trump.
“Our country is going in the wrong direction. We can see it and we can feel it,” Mr. DeSantis said. “We must choose a new direction for our country. We must choose a path that will lead to a revival of American greatness.”
Mr. DeSantis, 44, is the only candidate other than Mr. Trump registering in double digits among both national and Iowa primary voters, but he’s trailing the former president by 30 points nationally and more than 20 points in Iowa.
In a press conference following his debut, Mr. DeSantis said he can pull away some of Mr. Trump’s support by talking about his record as governor of “standing for what’s right.”
Iowa voters, he said, “will see that I’m willing to take arrows for that.”
The DeSantis campaign launch attracted dedicated supporters and curious GOP voters looking for an alternative to Mr. Trump, who is running for president while facing criminal investigations and lawsuits.
He was recently found liable for sexual abuse and defamation in a New York City civil suit that revived decades-old allegations and is under a federal criminal probe involving classified information at is Mar-a-Lago home and separately, his actions ahead of the January 6, 2021 riot at the Capitol.
Some Iowa voters are eyeing Mr. DeSantis as a conservative candidate without the legal drama.
“We are just kind of checking him out,” said William Siefkas, 66, who came to the DeSantis launch with his wife, Connie. “We are tired of all the muckety-muck going on with Trump right now.”
He accused Democrats of kneecapping the economy by killing energy production, leaving the borders wide open and letting criminals roam the streets by allowing crime to increase in the nation’s cities.
His denunciation of “Marxist ideology,” and “woke” agendas, incorporated in public education and some orporations, drew standing ovations, as did his condemnation of the COVID vaccine-mandates and lockdowns that he said are still hurting the country.
He took a swipe at Mr. Trump, without naming him, for leaving in place Dr. Anthony Fauci, a proponent of the lockdowns and mandates Mr. DeSantis largely rejected, as his top COVID advisor.
“You do not empower somebody like Fauci. You bring him into the office, and you tell him to pack his bags,” Mr. DeSantis said.
He also promised to rein in government spending and reduce the nation’s debt, which he said is damaging the economy and hurting the middle class.
“The Biden administration is doing all it can to make it harder for the average family to make ends meet and to attain and maintain a middle class lifestyle,” Mr. DeSantis said.
The DeSantis campaign and his supporters believe Iowa offers a chance for him to cut into Mr. Trump’s advantage, thanks to a heavily Christian voting base.
Mr. DeSantis can appeal to Republican voters with his conservative, pro-life agenda he has advanced in Florida, without the drama and legal entanglements that come with the former president, they said.
Matt Wells, 42, who lives in Washington, in the southeastern quadrant of the state, is all in for Mr. DeSantis, in part because of Mr. DeSantis’ squeaky-clean resume and dedication to his family.
Mr. DeSantis is also staunch conservatism and pushed through Florida laws limiting LGBTQ content in public schools, prohibiting abortion after six weeks of pregnancy and taking on the woke policies of Disney and other corporations.
It’s a policy playbook exactly to Mr. Wells’ liking and he believes Mr. DeSantis can win Iowa voters, particularly conservatives of his generation, with one-on-one retail politicking that shows off his policy expertise.
“I think he will easily appeal to people of my age,” Mr. Wells said. “The ones I worry about are the boomers. The problem I see is that they are putting their hopes and dreams on a guy.”
That “guy,” the former president, arrives in Iowa later this week, where he’ll hold a televised town hall event with Sean Hannity of Fox News Channel and will answer questions and meet with voters at the Westside Conservative Club in Urbandale on Thursday.
The Iowa caucus is likely to take place in January and is poised to be the first contest of the Republican primary.
Longtime political operatives in the state say Mr. DeSantis, or any of the GOP candidates working retail politics in the state, has a chance to cut into Mr. Trump’s big lead.
“It’s fair to say Trump has the upper hand right now, but I would not say anything is in the bag,” said Iowa Republican National Committee member Steve Scheffler. “Anything can happen. Whoever comes here and works their tail off the hardest may begin to connect.”
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.
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