Iowa’s evangelical kingmaker says it would be ‘a big mistake’ to count Ron DeSantis out

One of Iowa’s top evangelical leaders has told The Independent that Republicans and the press are writing off Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s presidential campaign too soon.

Bob Vander Plaats, the chief executive of the Family Leader, is one of the leading voices in heavily evangelical Iowa. Earlier this year, the Family Leader hosted a forum with many of the Republican candidates for president with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson serving as the moderator.

He has had a track record of betting on the right horse before the Iowa caucus. In 2008, he served as the state chairman for Mike Huckabee’s run for president when the former Arkansas governor won the caucus. In 2012, he endorsed Rick Santorum before he eked out a win against Mitt Romney and endorsed Sen Ted Cruz before the Texas Republican beat Donald Trump in the first contest in the GOP race.

Mr Vander Plaats said in the same respect, Mr DeSantis has time to triumph despite numerous negative headlines.

“I think it'd be a big mistake to count him out,” he said. Mr Vander Plaats said that Mr DeSantis’s campaign reminds him of Mr Cruz’s campaign in 2016 when he struggled in the polls after an initial strong start before his ultimate victory.

So far, Mr Vander Plaats has not endorsed a candidate but he did invite Mr DeSantis and his wife Casey to church earlier this month.

A Fox News poll released this week showed that in June, 22 per cent of Republican primary voters preferred Mr DeSantis compared to 56 per cent that preferred Mr Trump. But since then, only 16 per cent prefer Mr DeSantis, while Republican businessman Vivek Ramaswamy has almost doubled his support from 5 to 11 per cent.

Mr Vander Plaats said that many Iowa voters are “kicking the tires” on who they might support.

“But they break late,” he said. “So I would worry much more around Thanksgiving time, first of December than I would at state fair time and Labor Day.”

Mr DeSantis remains Mr Trump’s closest competitor, though he still trails the former president significantly despite the latter’s numerous legal troubles.

The governor has campaigned heavily in the Hawkeye state, which has a large evangelical population, as he seeks to revive his flagging campaign amid disappointing fundraising numbers, staff layoffs and multiple negative headlines.

Never Back Down, the super PAC supporting Mr DeSantis, announced earlier this month that it had county chairpeople in each of the state’s 99 counties. In addition, he earned the support of prominent Iowa talk radio host, Steve Deace.

Mr DeSantis remains close with Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, a sticking point for Mr Trump, even saying at one point he would consider her as a potential running mate.

Republican presidential candidates will hold their first debate next week in Milwaukee. On Thursday, The New York Times reported on a memo from Never Back Down, a pro-DeSantis super PAC, advising the governor to attack Mr Ramaswamy while also defending former president Donald Trump.

The Iowa Caucus will take place on 15 January.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Mr Vander Plaats welcomed Mr DeSantis, posting the hashtag #ChooseWisely as well as a Bible verse, 1 Timothy 2:1-4, which partially reads “Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity.”