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Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa is expected to endorse Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida in the Republican presidential primary on Monday, backing her significant influence in the state as she tries to make up ground against former President Donald J. Trump ahead of the state’s election. electoral assemblies in January.
The endorsement will take place when DeSantis appears in the state, according to three people familiar with the plans.
The support was first reported by The Des Moines Register and NBC News.
Reynolds is very popular among Republicans in his state and is one of the few governors with whom DeSantis has had a real connection in recent years. The two governors have been aligned on issues related to Covid policy and abortion, among other things. Her interest in her candidacy has been clear for months, even to Trump, who criticized her for not lining up behind him.
People who have spoken to Reynolds say he has had some frustrations with the DeSantis campaign’s stumbles. But she is angry at Trump, who has personally attacked her twice, according to those people.
Trump’s team has been preparing for a possible endorsement from her of DeSantis for months.
Trump was frustrated earlier this year by Reynolds’ public appearances with DeSantis, saying at one point: “I hate to say it, without me, she wasn’t going to win, you know that, right? “Later, he lashed out again saying that he didn’t invite her to her events.
The endorsement comes ahead of the third presidential debate on Wednesday in Miami, when DeSantis will try to close ground on Trump and separate himself from Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina and former United Nations ambassador who was linked to him in Iowa in the last Des Moines Register/NBC News poll in the state.
The DeSantis campaign declined to comment and a spokesperson for Ms. Reynolds did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Trump adviser Jason Miller mocked the endorsement in an email statement with the subject line “Kim Reynolds will endorse a candidate who will never be president.” “Rob DeSanctimonious is not going to get anything but Carly Fiorina’s rebound,” he said, referring to one of Trump’s 2016 rivals.
Reynolds is deeply protective of her state and some close to her believed she was unlikely to endorse DeSantis unless his campaign showed signs of progress. The decision to endorse would appear to be a sign that Reynolds believes she can make a significant difference in a race in which polls show Trump still leading by a wide margin. Historically, the Iowa caucuses have been volatile affairs with significant moves as the vote approaches.