DES MOINES, Iowa \u2014 Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds touted Ron DeSantis\u2019 accomplishments as governor of Florida as she endorsed him for president Monday \u2014 and said she believes he will be able to win the 2024 general election, while Donald Trump cannot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI believe he can\u2019t win,\u201d Reynolds said of Trump, \u201cand I believe that Ron can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd that\u2019s a big reason I got behind him,\u201d Reynolds said in a joint interview with DeSantis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reynolds, who is in her second term, had said she would stay neutral in the Republican primary race, though she appeared with DeSantis at least eight times<\/a> since he announced his candidacy in late May. But she is breaking with local tradition to throw her support behind DeSantis as he tries to consolidate non-Trump Republicans and close the polling gap with the former president in Iowa and other states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis one\u2019s obviously very meaningful, because Kim has proven to be a great leader that Iowans love,\u201d DeSantis said of Reynolds\u2019 support, recounting the enthusiasm he hears from Iowans for their governor as he campaigns across the state. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI mean, any time I mention her name out there, they cheer, and it\u2019s because of what she\u2019s been able to accomplish as governor,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Reynolds\u2019 assessment of Trump\u2019s electability clashes with current public polls, which often show Trump performing similarly to<\/a> or better than<\/a> DeSantis in matchups against President Joe Biden. But that is before the heat of a general election campaign \u2014 and before Trump faces trial on numerous state and federal criminal charges next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reynolds, who has campaigned with a number of Republican presidential hopefuls across the state in recent months, painted DeSantis as an accomplished executive \u2014 one worth spending her own political capital to support in an upcoming slate of public events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI just felt like I couldn\u2019t sit on the sidelines any longer. We have too much at stake. Our country is in a world of hurt, the world is a powder keg, and I think it\u2019s just really important that we put the right person in office,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With just over two months to go until the all-important Jan. 15 Iowa caucuses, it\u2019s unclear whether Reynolds\u2019 endorsement will push DeSantis over the finish line in the nation\u2019s first 2024 contest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n DeSantis\u2019 poll numbers in the state have stagnated in recent months. An NBC News\/Des Moines Register\/Mediacom poll<\/a> of Iowans conducted in late October found 16% of likely Republican caucusgoers supporting DeSantis as their first choice, compared to 19% in August. Trump had 43% support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n DeSantis is redirecting his campaign resources into Iowa in an effort to block Trump in the first contest, barnstorming the state and edging closer to visiting all of its 99 counties. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If any figure can change the local dynamics of the presidential race, it might be Reynolds. She enjoyed an 81% favorable rating among Iowa Republicans in an August NBC News\/Des Moines Register\/Mediacom poll. The Trump campaign and allies have conducted polling suggesting Reynolds\u2019 endorsement would have little impact on the race<\/a>, but it remains to be seen whether her public campaigning will help DeSantis gain more traction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reynolds\u2019 endorsement is a departure from Iowa tradition. Former Gov. Terry Branstad, Reynolds\u2019 mentor, who served from 1983 until 1999 and then again from 2011 until 2017, didn\u2019t endorse a presidential candidate in the Iowa caucuses once during his multidecade tenure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI stayed neutral, virtually throughout all the time I was governor. And that\u2019s been kind of the tradition,\u201d Branstad said in a separate interview. \u201cWe\u2019re the first-in-the-nation caucus, and we want to be very welcoming to all the candidates.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But for Reynolds, who was Branstad\u2019s lieutenant governor before she succeeded him in 2017, this election felt too important to stay on the sidelines. And it means she\u2019s lining up against Trump as he runs to retake the White House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n