Des Moines, Iowa
CNN
—
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will kick off his White House bid in earnest on Tuesday evening in Iowa – a state that will provide an early glimpse into whether Republican primary voters are ready to move on from former President Donald Trump.
After technical difficulties overshadowed the pronouncement of his presidential aspirations on Twitter last week, DeSantis’ first official stop as a candidate is expected to carry the more familiar hallmarks of a campaign launch. He will speak at an evangelical church just outside Des Moines before embarking on a traditional three-day swing through key early nominating states.
DeSantis has spent much of the days since his announcement explaining his unconventional launch and sharpening his criticism of Trump after largely avoiding discussing the former president this spring. He has targeted Trump’s stewardship of the economy and the pandemic and accused him of being soft on crime and ineffective.
However, DeSantis has so far said little about his vision for the country or why he is running to be president, and Tuesday’s event could provide the venue to more formally make his case for the 2024 GOP nomination.
As the opening contest in the GOP nominating fight, Iowa holds a unique role in sizing up the presidential field, even if it has not proven to be predictive of the eventual nominee. But with a former president seeking a return to the White House for the first time in a century, the Hawkeye State will be closely watched for any sign that Trump’s hold on Republican voters is slipping.
Though he told Fox News over Memorial Day weekend that he intends to “compete everywhere,” DeSantis said that he expects Iowa will present a unique opportunity to contrast the “values” between him and Trump. He said his policy wins on conservative priorities – which includes a six-week abortion ban and new restrictions on teaching about race or LGBTQ topics – compares favorably with recent Republican victories in Iowa.
“Iowa’s very important,” DeSantis said on Fox News. “We obviously have a lot in common with Iowa in terms of what Florida has done and what they’ve done under Governor Kim Reynolds. And I think the groundswell of support has been really, really strong. We’re going to press the case.”
Never Back Down, a super PAC supporting DeSantis, has spent weeks building out an operation in the state, hiring staff and enlisting support from dozens of lawmakers. Leading that effort is veteran GOP operative Jeff Roe, the architect of Sen. Ted Cruz’s 2016 campaign. Cruz won the Iowa caucuses that year, triumphing over several candidates including Trump.
Though polls continue to show DeSantis is Trump’s top rival for the nomination, he is jumping into an increasingly crowded field and his early movements suggest his political team is preparing for a protracted fight. Following a swing through Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, DeSantis will return to Iowa on Saturday for Sen. Joni Ernst’s Roast and Ride event.
The event has become a key stop for presidential candidates – nearly all of the announced and expected field, save for Trump, has committed – and DeSantis’ willingness to participate in a traditional GOP cattle call is the clearest example yet he will have to grind through the race like the rest of the field.
Trump is also bracing for a difficult road to the nomination. Though Iowa was hardly a competitive battleground in the midterms, he held a pre-election rally in the state last November. He is scheduled to participate in a town hall with Fox News on Thursday in Clive, Iowa.
DeSantis will hold his event Tuesday in that same Des Moines suburb at an evangelical church, a venue that is illustrative of how faith remains an influential force for Republicans, particularly in Iowa, as they choose their nominee. Ahead of the event, he and his wife, Casey, will meet with 15 local Iowa pastors, according to a DeSantis campaign source familiar with the plans.
The pastors will be “praying over the family and the governor’s candidacy,” the source said.
DeSantis has sought to make inroads in evangelical circles in the weeks leading up to his campaign launch. He and his wife dined with Bob Vander Plaats, president of Iowa-based The Family Leader, at the Florida Governor’s Mansion earlier this month. He addressed students at Liberty University, the Virginia college started by televangelist Jerry Falwell, in April and recently joined evangelical commentator Franklin Graham for an on-stage chat at the annual meeting of the National Religious Broadcasters association.
Trump, meanwhile, has clashed with the evangelical community of late, accusing church leaders of “disloyalty” for not enthusiastically backing his campaign. Trump has also angered the religious right for declining to say if he would support a federal abortion ban.
“Nobody has ever done more for Right to Life than Donald Trump. I put three Supreme Court justices, who all voted, and (evangelicals) got something that they’ve been fighting for 64 years, for many, many years,’” Trump said in January, referring to the Supreme Court’s overturning of federal abortion rights in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision last summer.
As DeSantis entered the race, Vander Plaats, an influential voice in Iowa politics who has grown increasingly critical of the former president, wrote on Twitter that Trump is leading in the Hawkeye State but has a “self-inflicted” ceiling.
“DeSantis is current favorite for alternative to Trump but needs to clear or diminish the field,” Vander Plaats tweeted last week. “All others need to prove why they’re the better alternative.”