DES MOINES, Iowa — Presidential candidate Ron DeSantis has received 50 new endorsements from pastors and faith leaders across Iowa, bringing his total to more than 150, The Post reported.
New supporters are in the final stretch ahead of Monday's Iowa caucuses, where the Florida governor aims to defeat Republican front-runner Donald Trump.
All the new supporters are planning to caucus for Mr. DeSantis.
Religious support is particularly important in Iowa, where Ted Cruz and DeSantis competed to woo evangelical voters in 2016, and strong evangelical support gave Trump a victory.
In the days leading up to the caucuses, Trump has emphasized his role defending pro-life policies, saying he was president when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
Last week, the Trump campaign announced that the former president had received more than 300 endorsements from religious leaders in all 99 Iowa counties, beating DeSantis.
The Catholic governor is emphasizing support from religious leaders in Iowa in an effort to turn the tide against Trump, 77, a fellow Florida native who has a 35-point approval rating in the Hawkeye State.
Mr. DeSantis, 45, launched the Faith and Freedom Coalition in September to promote a “God over government” message and pro-religious freedom policies.
The new supporters say DeSantis is “a true man of unwavering faith and a champion of religious freedom” whose beliefs are “grounded in the principles of faith and a Christian worldview.” did.
“As other candidates have said, Ron DeSantis is a true man of unwavering faith, a champion of religious freedom, and someone we can trust to unite our country and restore America.” “I was honored to support him on caucus night and encourage my fellow Iowans to do the same,” said Pastor Jeff Morse of Sunnybrook Community Church in Woodbury.
Mr. DeSantis also has the support of evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats, who has campaigned with Mr. DeSantis across Iowa, urging voters to come out to defeat Mr. Trump.
On Thursday, Vander Plaats predicted that DeSantis would win the Iowa caucuses, but only with the “support” of Iowa voters.
Her rival, Nikki Haley, 51, takes a centrist approach to abortion and has not been very vocal with religious leaders.
The former U.N. ambassador and South Carolina governor, who is “unapologetically pro-life,” said abortion has become too politicized.
“Democrats are instilling fear in women about abortion, but Republicans are passing judgment,” Haley said during Wednesday's CNN debate. “This is too personal a matter to be fearful or judgemental. Our goal should be how can we save as many babies as possible and support as many mothers as possible. That's what we're going to focus on. We're not going to demonize this issue any more. We're not going to play politics with this issue anymore.”
David Greenberg, a political history professor at Rutgers University, told the Post that religious affiliation does not indicate a one-to-one ratio of people voting, but it does indicate a general trend. Ta.
“It's probably safe to assume that this reflects his overall popularity among evangelical voters, who are a key force in the Iowa Republican caucus,” Greenberg said.
According to the RealClearPolitics average, Trump's approval rating is 53%, ahead of Haley (17.8%) and DeSantis (15.5%).
