GOP presidential hopefuls share stories of faith

SIOUX CENTER — Four Republican presidential candidates shared stories of family and faith Saturday before hundreds of voters in Northwest Iowa, in congenial individual conversations with their hosts not long after the campaign's latest fractious televised debate.

But off the stage at a small Christian college in Sioux Center, the rivals' sharp edges reemerged.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy and Texas pastor Ryan Binkley leaned on their families to drive home their origin stories, without other candidates interrupting, at the event held in a rural, conservative corner of a state that holds the leadoff contest on the election calendar in about a month.

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Later, DeSantis and Ramaswamy both went after Haley — a further sign that her opponents see her as a growing threat in the 2024 race where former President Donald Trump, who skipped the event, is the front-runner in polls of Republicans nationwide and Iowa, where the caucuses are set for Jan. 15.

After DeSantis' time with the moderators, U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra and his wife, Lynette, the Florida governor returned to a recurring campaign theme: Haley's campaign is funded by liberal Democrats and Wall Street donors and she is “taking positions that are more palatable to those folks.”

Ramaswamy told reporters that his criticisms of Haley at Wednesday’s debate were intended to illustrate the “deep ideological divide” in the Republican Party. He said he was unfairly being criticized for targeting Haley, the only woman in the race.

“It's part of a double standard that the people in this country are sick of when it comes to identity politics,” he said. “The good news is — I’m not letting them get away with that."

Haley did not speak to the media after her appearance.

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On the stage before about 750 people, including many students from Dordt University, each candidate discussed faith, family and politics.

DeSantis was accompanied by wife, Casey. Haley sat with her 25-year-old daughter, Rena. Ramaswamy brought his 3-year-old son, Karthik. Binkley was accompanied by his wife, Ellie.

Casey DeSantis called the couple's son the "biggest Ron DeSantis fan" and said he once told her, "Momma, our nation is in decline." She positioned her husband as a candidate who could reverse such a decline.

Ellie Binkley said revamping the adoption and foster care system would be ways of curbing abortions. “We have to get into the foster system and just revamp it to where there are people of integrity, people of morals, that are fostering these children and then allowing adoption to be more affordable," she said.

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Ramaswamy wove the idea of family with his "America First" policies, which include a criticism of NATO and reduction of foreign aid, including to Israel.

"I think it's our moral duty to look after our family, as parents. Our moral duty to look after this country, as leaders, whether in Congress, or whether in the White House, and then, after that, we can turn to solving hunger in the Congo or wherever else it is that we're sending our foreign aid," he said.

Of the four candidates, Haley spent the most time discussing foreign policy issues. Haley served as the Trump administration's U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations from January 2017 through December 2018.

She said she believes it would be a mistake for the United States to pursue more isolationist polices. "On Sept. 12, we needed a lot of friends,“ she said, referencing the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. ”You have to be a friend to get a friend.“

Feenstra said it was a chance for people to hear the candidates' principles and positions, unlike the debates that left little time for real answers from candidates because of infighting and bickering.

Feenstra said he may endorse in the race, but has not yet.

“I want them to make their own decision based on what they’re hearing,” he told reporters. “They can make that decision on their own without some politician telling them this is what has to happen.”

As for the absent Trump, "I’d love to hear his stance on faith and family,” Feenstra said. "I think that’d be very important to Northwest Iowa and all of Iowa.”

Jared McNett of the Sioux City Journal contributed to this report.