Campaign Almanac: DeSantis: Reynolds endorsement would be 'huge get'

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds reiterated Wednesday that she has not yet ruled out making an endorsement in the Republican presidential primary.

Reynolds said the same thing this summer, and when asked during a news conference Wednesday said her position has not changed.

“It’s not out of the realm,” Reynolds told reporters. “I don’t have any specific timeline on that, but I haven’t ruled it out. This election’s too important.”

Later Wednesday in a separate, virtual news conference with Iowa reporters, Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he would welcome Reynolds’ endorsement, which he said would be “huge” for any candidate.

“I think it would be a huge get. Obviously I would love to have her formal support. I think that it could be very, very meaningful. I think what she’s been able to do in Iowa has really been a model for how people should govern,” DeSantis said. “I think any candidate running would be a fool not to want to have the support of Gov. Reynolds.”

DeSantis has previously said he would consider Reynolds as a potential running mate, if he wins the party’s nomination for the 2024 presidential election. And while Reynolds has appeared with most of the Republican presidential candidates, she also has introduced DeSantis at his campaign launch event in Iowa, and has moderated discussions for campaign events with both DeSantis and his wife Casey.

A recent poll from Iowa State University and Civiqs found 17 percent of likely Iowa Republican caucus participants chose DeSantis as their first choice to be the party’s nominee for president, placing a distant second behind Republican front-runner and former President Donald Trump, who was the first choice among 55 percent of respondents.

Tim Scott ‘all in’ on Iowa in bid to boost struggling campaign

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Republican presidential candidate and South Carolina U.S. Sen. Tim Scott released a new TV ad, “Battle Scars,” which begin airing Wednesday in Iowa.

The ad will air in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Davenport media markets, according to Scott’s campaign.

This week, the campaign announced moves to “go all-in on Iowa,” shifting staff and advertising money in a bid to boost his struggling presidential campaign less than three months out from the first-in-the-nation GOP caucus that will kick off the presidential nominating contest.

Scott campaign, in a statement, said it sees “an opportunity and wide-open evangelical lane to win the Iowa Republican caucus.”

Many evangelical voters, a crucial segment of the Iowa Republican electorate, have said they’re unhappy with Trump but have yet to coalesce around a challenger.

The campaign currently has $1.6 million of TV reserved in Iowa going forward. More staff and resources will head to Iowa in the weeks ahead, according to the campaign. It said it plans to double its staff on the ground in Iowa and open a new West Des Moines, Iowa headquarters. And following next month’s debate in Miami, Scott plans to travel across Iowa every week in the lead-up to the Jan. 15 caucuses.

Bohannan endorsed by Reproductive Freedom For All

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One of the nation’s largest advocacy groups for reproductive rights has endorsed Iowa City Democrat and former state lawmaker Christina Bohannan for Iowa’s 1st Congressional District.

Bohannan earned the endorsement of Reproductive Freedom for All, formerly NARAL Pro-Choice America, in her campaign to unseat Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks.

“Christina has always stood firm in her support for reproductive freedom and in Congress, she will always fight for southeast Iowans’ right to choose,” according to her campaign.

Miller-Meeks, who is serving her second term representing southeast Iowa’s 1st Congressional District, has received criticism from local medical providers for co-sponsoring a proposal that would declare that personhood begins at conception. Miller-Meeks has said she supports a national 15-week ban on abortion with exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother.

“Despite an overwhelming majority of Iowans supporting the right to choose, politicians like Mariannette Miller-Meeks are working relentlessly to turn back the clock and rip away our right to make private and personal healthcare decisions,” Bohannan said in a statement.

Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau