Ron DeSantis campaign brings Kim Reynolds’ ‘endorsement’ to Iowa TV

Image via DeSantis campaign.

Hawkeye State Republicans are set to get frequent reminders of who their Governor is backing in the 2024 presidential race.

The new Ron DeSantis ad features a familiar face: Kim Reynolds, who is the Florida Governor’s most high-profile endorser in Iowa.

The 30-second TV spot, entitled “Endorsement,” features the Iowa Governor enthusing about DeSantis.

“We need someone who puts this country first and not himself. Ron DeSantis is the person that we need leading this country. He is probably the most effective leader that I know. I am so proud to give him my full support and endorsement,” she says in the spot.

DeSantis’ campaign is pouring more than $2 million into ad buys in the state, and the Reynolds endorsement is clearly going to be central to that messaging.

The Reynolds endorsement, which comes as Donald Trump leads by nearly 30 points in the most recent Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom Iowa Poll of the race, represents the culmination of a DeSantis effort months in the making — and a potential lifeline for a campaign that suddenly finds itself battling Nikki Haley, who is tied with DeSantis in that same poll.

The Trump campaign diminished the importance of the endorsement earlier this month.

“Kim Reynolds’s endorsement of DeSanctus is a prime example of disloyalty in politics. The people of Iowa know what President Trump has done for their state. The fact is that her endorsement does not make any difference in Iowa, because people know President Trump is the undisputed leader of the Republican Party,” asserted a spokesperson.

Iowa’s 40 delegates will be doled out on a proportional basis after the Jan. 15 caucus results are finalized. The open question now is how much Reynolds’ endorsement means, especially in light of polling that shows her among the least popular American governors.

Morning Consult claims Reynolds “is America’s most unpopular governor, with a 47% disapproval rating, up from 39% in the first quarter of 2023. Her unpopularity increased partly because of a surge in negative sentiment among independent and Republican voters during a year in which she signed a strict anti-abortion law and took a lashing from former President Donald Trump over her apparent closeness with Gov. Ron DeSantis.”

See the ad below.