Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa says she is backing Gov. Ron DeSantis in the 2024 GOP presidential nomination in part because former President Donald Trump cannot win a general election race.
Ms. Reynolds, in a sit-down interview with Mr. DeSantis, told NBC News that she believes Mr. Trump “can’t win” and “I believe Ron can.”
“And that’s a big reason I got behind him,” Ms. Reynolds said.
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.
Mr. DeSantis 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.
But he has faced a stiff challenge for those 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.
