With less than a month till the Iowa Republican presidential caucuses on January 15, 2024, Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, joined by U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, campaigned at an event hosted by super PAC Never Back Down at the Veterans of Foreign Wars hall in Southwest Cedar Rapids on Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023.
In a crowd of 60 supporters, DeSantis emphasized his record as Governor of Florida and the legislative results he helped deliver in the state. “I don’t say things idly, when I’m doing it I think about how I’m going to actually get it accomplished,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis mentioned his “Don’t Say Gay” law as part of the parental rights legislation
DeSantis is endorsed by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and Iowa evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats. Vander Plaats is the President and CEO of the Family Leader, a Christian lobbyist group based in Des Moines.
Reynolds announced her endorsement after previously vowing to remain neutral in the Iowa Caucuses. Reynolds is the first Iowa Governor since 1996 to break convention and endorse a candidate before the caucuses. Former President Donald Trump voiced his criticism of Reynolds’ endorsement of DeSantis during an address at a campaign rally in Coralville on Dec. 13.
DeSantis announced a plan to move the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Agriculture to Iowa during his visit to Jasper County on his last campaign stop to fulfill his 99-county tour of Iowa in Newton on Dec. 2.
DeSantis confirmed that he would be attending the CNN televised presidential debate at Drake University in Des Moines on Jan. 10.
