The influential evangelical leader of a top social conservative organization in Iowa endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday.
Bob Vander Plaats, president and CEO of The Family Leader organization, announced his endorsement of DeSantis in an interview with Bret Baier at 6 p.m. on Fox News’ “Special Report.”
“We need to find somebody who can win in 2024,” Vander Plaats said, pointing to the 2022 midterms, where an anticipated “red wave” never materialized for most of the country. DeSantis, however, won re-election in Florida by a wide margin.
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Vander Plaats’ endorsement did not come as much of a surprise.
“We’re hopeful that we’re able to secure that endorsement,” DeSantis told reporters Tuesday during the first of two campaign stops in New Hampshire, the state that holds the first primary and second overall contest in the GOP nominating schedule, after Iowa’s lead-off caucuses.
The Florida governor, along with 2024 GOP White House rivals, former ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, appeared with Vander Plaats on Friday at a Family Leader presidential forum in Des Moines,
