Even with the endorsement of Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, Gov. Ron DeSantis has not cut into former president Donald Trump’s huge lead in the state.
Gov. Ron DeSantis plans on Saturday to complete his presidential campaign promise to visit each of Iowa’s 99 counties.
The big-state governors were eager to represent their parties on the national stage as they battled over the economy, pandemic restrictions and President Joe Biden’s leadership in a faceoff peppered with fiery policy disputes and personal insults.
The 90-minute event will occur at a studio in Alpharetta, Georgia, north of Atlanta, a location chosen for its key swing-state implications.
The Family Forum will put candidates at one table to give Iowans “a chance to see what’s in the candidates’ hearts, not just in their plans,” said Bob Vander Plaats, president and CEO of the influential Family Leader, in a statement.
DeSantis and the other GOP candidates face growing urgency, with the leadoff Iowa caucuses just a little more than two months away, to cut into former president Donald Trump’s huge margins in the 2024 primary and establish themselves as a clear alternative.
The two-hour debate will start at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
In June, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign shared an attack ad against his GOP primary opponent Donald Trump that used AI-generated images of the former president hugging infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Former president Donald Trump will not participate in the debate. His campaign has worked to overpower Gov. Ron DeSantis in their shared home state of Florida and publicly said it wants to score blowout wins in early primary states to seal the nomination.
Residents in six north-central Florida communities cast votes for council members and ballot questions.