Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds endorses Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for president

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for president, making her announcement well ahead of Iowa's upcoming January GOP caucus, which will mark the first state Republican nominating contest of the 2024 presidential election cycle.

"We need someone who will fight for you and win for you. We need someone who won't get distracted but will stay disciplined, who puts this country first and not himself," Reynolds declared at a rally on Monday. "That leader is Ron DeSantis."

During an interview with NBC News' Dasha Burns, Reynolds said of former President Donald Trump, "I believe he can't win. And I believe Ron can."

The Florida governor, who won re-election during the Sunshine State's 2022 gubernatorial contest, is polling far behind former President Donald Trump.

"Why would anybody endorse Ron DeSanctimonious, who is like a wounded bird falling from the sky?" Trump wrote on Truth Social. "His Poll numbers are terrible, he is totally against Ethanol, and fought to destroy Social Security and Medicare. Well, the 'Nation’s most unpopular governor,' Kim Reynolds of Iowa, just endorsed him. What’s that all about?"

DeSantis and four other candidates will be participating in the third GOP presidential primary debate on Wednesday night in Miami, Florida, but Trump, who already skipped the first two debates, will be holding a rally in Hialeah, Florida, that evening.

DeSantis is slated to face Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom later this month in a debate moderated by conservative commentator Sean Hannity.

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who previously served as White House press secretary during a portion of Trump's White House tenure, has endorsed her former boss.

"It's not a question between right versus left anymore. It's normal versus crazy, and President Biden and the left are doubling down on crazy," Sanders said in a statement, according to reports. "The time has come to return to the normal policies of the Trump era which created a safer, stronger, and more prosperous America, and that’s why I am proud to endorse Donald Trump for President."

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