From the Trump campaign:
Over 150 faith leaders in Iowa are organizing their congregations for President Trump and not a single one demanded nearly $100k like Bob Vander Plaat$ did from Ron DeSanctus.
When you are actually the leader of a movement like President Trump is, people are willing to support you for free.
Kim Reynolds’ endorsement won’t save Ron DeSanctus, and neither will Vander Plaat$’ endorsement.
Vander Plaat$’ Organization Received Nearly $100k From DeSantis.
Reuters Headline: “Ron DeSantis and his backers paid $95,000 to an Iowa religious leader’s group”
In August 2023, Reuters reported that DeSantis and his backers paid $95,000 to the Family Leader Foundation, an Iowa-based nonprofit led by Bob Vander Plaat$.
“The DeSantis campaign, a super PAC linked to him and a nonprofit group supporting him together paid $95,000 in recent months to the Family Leader Foundation, an Iowa-based nonprofit led by evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats, according to campaign finance reports and a document prepared by an Iowa state lawmaker who was helping the Vander Plaats organization raise money for a July 14 presidential candidate forum.”
Vander Plaat$ Has A History Of Losing.
Vander Plaat$ has attempted to run for higher officer himself, resulting in losing primary battles in 2002, 2006 and 2010.
“Vander Plaats has been president of the Family Leader, a Christian conservative organization, since 2010. He has over the years lost three bids for the governor’s office, losing primary battles in 2002, 2006 and 2010. He has since moved from Sioux City to Grimes.”
Polling Reveals That Vander Plaat$’ Endorsement Won’t Save Ron’s Failing Campaign.
In a recent poll conducted about the impact of a Vander Plaat$ endorsement, the poll found his endorsement is negligible.
Vander Plaat$ is Defined to Less than Half the Electorate and his Image is Mixed:
“Among the Iowa GOP Caucus Attenders, a majority have no opinion (26%) or have never heard (29%) of Bob Vander Plaats. Among the minority of Iowa GOP Caucus Attenders with an opinion of Vander Plaats, 24% have a favorable opinion of him and 21% have an unfavorable opinion, a difference within the margin of error. Furthermore, most of his favorables are just somewhat favorables, while most of his unfavorables are very unfavorable, meaning those with a negative opinion of Vander Plaats feel more strongly in their opinion than those with a positive opinion.”
The Impact of a Vander Plaat$ Endorsement to the GOP Presidential Ballot is Negligible:
“When Iowa GOP Caucus Attenders were initially asked who they would vote for in the Republican Presidential Caucus, Donald Trump had a huge lead, garnering 45% compared to 15% for Ron DeSantis, 13% for Nikki Haley, and 5% or less for all the other candidates tested. After informing these voters about a Vander Plaats endorsement of DeSantis, there was no statistically significant change to the ballot other than Undecideds increasing slightly from 7% to 13%. Trump continued to win more than 40% of the ballot, while DeSantis won just 14%, tied with Haley.”
Bottom Line:
“While the DeSantis camp will try and spin that a Vander Plaats’ endorsement will revive their sputtering and shrinking campaign, cold hard data tells a much different story. These GOP Caucus Attenders have mixed feelings about Vander Plaats, if they have any opinion at all, and no few if any are moving to vote for DeSantis because of his endorsement.”
President Trump Did More for Iowa Than Any Administration in History
Unlike Joe Biden, President Trump protected Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucuses.
President Trump made E15 ethanol available year-round, boosting Iowa’s economy and advancing American energy independence. President Trump also dramatically increased the number of fueling pumps where E15 could be sold across the country.
Iowa added almost 22,000 new jobs in the first three years of the Trump Administration, including 10,100 new manufacturing jobs. When Joe Biden was Vice President, Iowa lost 2,200 manufacturing jobs.
President Trump oversaw record low unemployment for African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, and women. Unemployment in Iowa remained below 3% for the first three years of President Trump’s Administration.
President Trump stood up to China like never before, rebalancing our trade relationship and bringing in hundreds of billions of dollars from China. When China targeted America’s farmers, President Trump provided $28 billion dollars in relief.
President Trump replaced the job-killing NAFTA deal with the historic USMCA trade agreement that contributed to an economic boom in Iowa.
President Trump slashed the estate tax, or death tax, to allow Iowa farmers to keep farms in the family.
President Trump rolled back unnecessary job-killing regulations at a historic pace, including those that harmed Iowa’s farmers. His Administration cut 8 regulations for every new rule including Barack Obama’s Waters of the United States rule that imposed federal restrictions on much of Iowa’s farmland.
President Trump successfully negotiated and renegotiated more than 50 agreements to boost farm exports by more than $60 billion dollars. As a result, Japan reduced or eliminated tariffs on over 90 percent of U.S. food and agricultural exports and the European Union agreed to nearly triple its beef imports and open its market to American soybeans.
The Trump Administration worked to promote connectivity in rural America by investing in rural broadband.
In 2018, President Trump signed a sweeping new Farm Bill into law that provided support and stability to Iowa’s farmers, expanded crop insurance, doubled how much farmers can borrow and helped open new markets for agriculture goods.
From 2017-2020 real median household income in Iowa increased by $1,882, the highest level on record.
What did Governor Kim get to endorse Ron? Bob made out pretty well.