DES MOINES, Iowa — Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley may not have earned Gov. Kim Reynolds‘s (R-IA) endorsement, but that is not stopping her from underscoring outside gubernatorial support in Iowa two weeks before the 2024 Republican presidential primary‘s opening caucuses.
Haley’s campaign announced it will hold two events in Des Moines on Friday, one of which will promote her nod from Gov. Chris Sununu (R-NH).
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“Following her swing through New Hampshire, Haley will host a slate of events in the Hawkeye State,” the Haley campaign said Tuesday. “She’ll join the Des Moines Rotary Club and attend a Run GenZ event with Gov. Chris Sununu.”
Haley averages 16% of the vote in Iowa, behind former President Donald Trump‘s 51% and Gov. Ron DeSantis‘s (R-FL) 19%, according to RealClearPolitics. Reynolds endorsed DeSantis last November, months before the caucuses on Jan. 15.
But in Sununu’s New Hampshire, a surging Haley is in second place, with an average of 25% of the vote. Trump has 46%, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has 10.5%, and DeSantis has 9.5%. Sununu endorsed Haley last month before the Feb. 23 New Hampshire primary.
The DeSantis campaign was skeptical regarding the persuasiveness of Haley’s Sununu endorsement in Iowa after DeSantis redirected all of his resources to the first-in-the-nation state. DeSantis supporter Bob Vander Plaats, president and CEO of the Family Leader, a socially conservative organization in Iowa, questioned whether Sununu had the potential to “sway people.”
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“Just like New Hampshire people want to hear from New Hampshire people, Iowans want to hear from Iowans,” Vander Plaats told the Washington Examiner. “They would have a whole lot more respect for Gov. Reynolds than they would for Gov. Sununu.”
Trump and DeSantis will also be in Iowa this weekend. Trump will hold two rallies each on Friday and Saturday, while DeSantis is hosting nine events around the state between Wednesday and Saturday.
