Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ campaign confirmed the addition of 50 new faith-based endorsements late this week.
“DeSantis gained 50 new endorsements from pastors and faith leaders across Iowa, bringing him to over 150 total endorsements from faith leaders in the final days before the Iowa caucuses,” Fox News reported Friday.
This is a big deal because “religious backing is especially important in Iowa, where strong evangelical support drove Ted Cruz to victory in 2016 over Trump,” according to the New York Post.
It’s particularly important because Trump is currently beating DeSantis with over 300 endorsements from faith leaders in all of the state’s 99 counties, meaning the governor has a lot of last-minute catching up to do.
That said, the faith leaders who’ve already endorsed DeSantis are 100 percent certain of their decision.
The faith community across Iowa is fired up and excited to caucus for @RonDeSantis!
“Other candidates talk, but Ron DeSantis is a true man of unwavering faith and defender of religious liberty who we can trust to unite our nation and revive America.” – Iowa Pastor Jeff Moes https://t.co/msLfLuD41w
— Amanda Vargo (@amandarvargo) January 12, 2024
“Other candidates talk, but Ron DeSantis is a true man of unwavering faith and defender of religious liberty who we can trust to unite our nation and revive America,” Pastor Jeff Moes of Sunnybrook Community Church told Fox News. “I will be honored to support him on caucus night and encourage my fellow Iowans to do the same.”
“I believe that Ron DeSantis is a political candidate whose core convictions are based upon principles of faith and a Christian worldview,” Pastor AJ Potter of Pleasantville Baptist Church added. “He has earned my respect and my full support for the upcoming caucus this Monday.”
According to Fox News, DeSantis jump-started the faith aspect of his campaign with the Faith and Family Coalition in September.
“In an effort to rally Iowa’s faith community and evangelical voters across the country, Florida Governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis is bringing together a national campaign coalition of pastors,” Des Moines station KCCI reported at the time.
“The operation comes as presidential candidates work to win over faith leaders and evangelical voters in Iowa. In 2016, entrance polls found more than two-thirds of Republican caucusgoers self-identified as evangelicals,” the station’s reporting continued.
Two months later, DeSantis received an endorsement from influential evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats.
As I’ve made my way through 98 of Iowa’s 99 counties, Iowans have shared what a critical role @bobvanderplaats plays in engaging Iowa’s faith community in the key battles that matter. His support tells Iowans they can trust me to fight and win for them.
We’re thrilled to have… pic.twitter.com/7QO6CgVK4T
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) November 21, 2023
Plaats at the time attributed his decision to the governor’s then-recent performance at The Family Leader Thanksgiving Family Forum event in Iowa, according to CNN.
“He was very clear [during the forum] about [how] we need a president who can serve two terms, not one term,” Plaats said. “We don’t need a president that’s gonna be a lame duck on day one.”
His endorsement of DeSantis came shortly after Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds endorsed the Florida governor.
“Vander Plaats told Fox that he believes his endorsement, combined with the endorsement from Reynolds, could propel DeSantis to success in Iowa, and speculated it could give him momentum in subsequent primaries,” CNN noted at the time.
“I think Gov. Reynolds’ endorsement of Ron DeSantis is a key play in the state of Iowa,” he said. “And if Iowa launches a Ron DeSantis, I think it gives New Hampshire a new look, South Carolina new look, and you have a real primary that’s going to take place.”
Yet months later, DeSantis is now trailing both Trump and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in Iowa. He’s doing so poorly, in fact, that some critics say he doesn’t stand a chance in hell of winning.
Cuz he can’t come close to Trump. Simple as that.
— Larry Schweikart (@LarrySchweikart) December 6, 2023
Writing for The New Yorker last month, Benjamin Wallace-Wells speculated that the governor’s problem was that he was trying too hard to be just like Trump.
“In Iowa, DeSantis has a clear opportunity: an electorate that has always been skeptical of Trump, no religious-right alternative, and a local political establishment that is in his corner,” Wallace-Wells wrote. “But they still need a candidate who can provide some contrast with the former President.”
“DeSantis’s bus, parked outside the event, was emblazoned with the slogan ‘Fight. Win. Lead.’ Like his campaign, DeSantis has internalized the notion that what voters want is someone who will fight just as hard on their behalf as Trump. The more he sticks to that, the more he sounds like the former President’s mini-me. Maybe that’s the problem,” he added.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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