DeSantis courts Iowa GOP ahead of expected announcement of 2024 presidential run

According to the DeSantis SuperPAC "Never Back Down," 37 Republican lawmakers in both the Iowa House and Senate are saying farewell to former President Trump, and gave Gov. DeSantis their glowing endorsements. This ahead of his upcoming visit to the battleground state on Saturday, New York Post reports.

Never Back Down Communications Director Erin Perrine announced the "historic" endorsements in a statement and said Iowans are impressed with Gov. DeSantis' track record of "unapologetic success."

"The support in Iowa for Governor Ron DeSantis to jump in the race and be our next President is overflowing – as shown by this historic list, which is the largest number of endorsements from Iowa legislators at this stage of a GOP primary in modern memory," Perrine said.

"Iowa's leaders are getting behind DeSantis as the future of the Republican Party. From these endorsements to a record number of RSVPs for Rep. Feenstra’s Family Picnic headlined by the governor, Iowans are impressed with Governor DeSantis' record of unapologetic success in Florida and want to see that in the White House. Should DeSantis decide to run for President, it’s clear Iowans will be behind him," she added.

Among those endorsements are Iowa Senate President Amy Sinclair and House Majority Leader Matt Windschitl, the two reportedly biggest Republican voices in the state legislature.

Sinclair told the Des Moines Register that giving DeSantis her full support was an "easy" choice as no other GOP contenders hold weight to the governor, if he were to enter into the race.

"He’s proven that he can do this work. He’s proven that he can get reelected and can continue to do that work even in the face of opposition. And I can’t think of a better person to serve as our president and really, honestly move America forward," she told the outlet.

As for Windschitl, the House minority leader told the Des Moines Register that America needs to move towards "looking at the future" and Gov. Ron DeSantis is a leader that can do just that.

"We need a leader that’s looking forward towards the future, not a leader that’s looking in the rearview mirror and potentially going to be vindictive towards other people,” he said. "We need somebody that’s accountable to the people that has proven in their state that they can do this job and take that same prosperity and spread it throughout America."

Gov. DeSantis, 44, will be speaking in Iowa on Saturday at two separate events, which also happens to be the same day former President Trump will be holding a rally in Des Moines.

DeSantis has not yet announced his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election but the governor made it clear that he "can beat Biden" if he decides to enter the race.

Recent polls show former President Donald Trump beating both President Biden and DeSantis in the 2024 presidential election.