Gov. Kim Reynolds (R-IA) is beefing up her national profile at the Iowa State Fair this weekend, appearing alongside nearly every Republican presidential hopeful except for former President Donald Trump.
The Iowa governor is considered a rising star in the Republican Party, and she has refrained from endorsing any specific candidate ahead of the 2024 Republican primaries, dangling a prize that could prove vital in an important early contest. Her state will open the 2024 GOP election season in January with the Iowa Caucuses.
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“Maybe down the road, we’ll do something different,” Reynolds told CNN. “But right now, it’s really important that they feel like they have a fair shot, and they’re welcome here in Iowa, and I want Iowans to have the chance to interact with them.”
The conservative leader has hosted a one-on-one conversation with each candidate at the state fair except for Trump, who declined her invitation, in a series of talks dubbed “fair-side chats.” Trump will appear at the state fair on Saturday, but will not sit down with Reynolds. The former president has had a more strained relationship with Reynolds over her endorsement silence.
The governor said she could decide to endorse a candidate in the future, but right now, she wants to remain neutral as the race is far from settled. She also claimed that she expected plenty of surprises over the next five months, which could throw a curveball in the election.
“There’s always surprises. It’s part of the process,” Reynolds said. “I can’t think of one caucus where there hasn’t been a surprise.”
Most of the Republican candidates have responded favorably to Reynolds’s approach. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), who is considered Trump’s main challenger for the nomination, called Reynolds “one of the top public servants in America.” DeSantis has also publicly stated that he would consider Reynolds as a possible running mate next year if he won the nomination.
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Outside of the state fair, Reynolds said one of her roles as a conservative leader was to help draw crowds to the GOP candidates at events in Iowa. She has appeared next to almost every candidate who has campaigned in her state, including Trump in May. She has also appeared with Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), and former governors Nikki Haley (R-SC) and Asa Hutchinson (R-AR).
Reynolds became the governor of Iowa in 2017 when her former boss then-Gov. Terry Branstad (R-IA) was tapped by Trump to serve as his ambassador to China. She narrowly won the seat in an official election in 2018 but soared to reelection in 2022.
