Prominent Iowa evangelical leader who turned on Trump set to back DeSantis: report
A prominent Iowa evangelical leader, who once backed ex-President Donald Trump, is set to publicly endorse Florida governor and 2024 GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis, CNN reports.
Support from The Family Leader President and CEO Bob Vander Plaats, after a recent endorsement from Iowa Republican Governor Kim Reynolds, Politico notes, "would offer a boost" to the governor's "campaign as he seeks to erode Trump's lead in the Hawkeye State."
According to CNN, DeSantis said during a Tuesday New Hampshire appearance, "We're hopeful that we're able to secure that endorsement. We have a good relationship. And I think that Bob has been somebody that's been very vocal about Donald Trump is not going to be the way forward."
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Politico reports:
For Vander Plaats, endorsing DeSantis poses a risk. He is all but certain to further anger the former president and overwhelming frontrunner — some of whose supporters have taken to derisively calling him 'Vander Poop.'
And he is in danger of parting ways with evangelical Christians who support Trump over more religious candidates like DeSantis, even as Trump continues to skip events hosted by the Family Leader, denigrates strict abortion bans that evangelicals hold dear and espouses the kind of menacing language Vander Plaats ridiculed at his 'Thanksgiving Family Forum' on Friday night in Des Moines.
CNN notes that as DeSantis expects Vander Plaats endorsement, Trump campaign officials confirmed over 150 Iowa faith leaders have thrown their support behind the former president.
However, the Des Moines Register reports, "Vander Plaats has so far declined to endorse ahead of the Jan. 15 caucuses but has been publicly and frequently critical of Trump, arguing that conservatives in Iowa need to opt for new leadership and that evangelicals are 'exhausted' by the former president."
READ MORE: DeSantis hopes this GOP evangelical leader can give him a 'come-from-behind victory' in Iowa: report
CNN's report is here. Politico's report is here. The Des Moines Register's report is here.
