Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa said Monday that a “big reason” she’s backing Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida in the 2024 GOP presidential race is that she believes former President Donald Trump will fall short in a general election.
Ms. Reynolds, in a sit-down interview alongside Mr. DeSantis, told NBC News that she believes Mr. Trump “can’t win” and “I believe Ron can.”
The Iowa governor formally endorsed Mr. DeSantis at a campaign rally Monday night in Des Moines, saying there is too much at stake for her to sit on the sidelines and said Mr. DeSantis is the right person to get the nation back on track.
“We need someone who will fight for you and who will win for you,” she said. “We need someone who will not get distracted, who puts this country first, and not himself.”
“That leader is Ron DeSantis!” she said.
Mr. DeSantis said he was “honored” to have Ms. Reynolds’ support, praising her as one of the greatest governors the state has ever had.
“She has shown an ability to stand and fight for you when it is not easy,” Mr. DeSantis said. “I think she understands what I understand, which is this country has hit the skids.”
Mr. DeSantis is hoping the support from Ms. Reynolds, arguably Iowa’s most popular Republican, could give his bid a boost of energy just roughly two months from the Jan. 15 caucuses that kick off the nomination process.
The Florida governor is running a second in Iowa, but remains 30 points behind Mr. Trump, according to the Real Clear Politics average of polls.
Mr. DeSantis’ supporters, however, are hoping the time and energy he has spent this year — he is closing in on stops in all 99 Iowa counties — will let him consolidate the non-Trump vote and deliver a strong enough finish to punch a hole in the air of inevitably around Mr. Trump’s bid.
“I don’t base my decision on polls,” Ms. Reynolds said in the NBC interview. “I take a look at who I believe is the right person for the right job. I believe that Ron is the right person for the right job.”
Mr. DeSantis is locked in a competitive battle for second place and for the support of “anybody but Trump “voters from Nikki Haley, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, who is running third in Iowa and second in New Hampshire.
Ms. Reynolds, a two-term governor, had planned to stay out of the race, but things started to change after Mr. Trump slammed her for not endorsing his campaign, and claimed credit for her gubernatorial wins.
In the interview with NBC News, Ms. Reynolds said she doesn’t know where her relationship with Mr. Trump stands and said they have not chatted since the “last time he called to ask if I would endorse him.”
Mr. Trump, meanwhile, predicted Sunday that the Reynolds endorsement of Mr. DeSantis will “be the end of her political career in that MAGA would never support her again.”
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.