Newton, Iowa — Ron DeSantis is betting that following through on his pledge to visit all 99 of Iowa’s counties will give his campaign some much-needed rocket fuel ahead of the country’s first-in-the-nation caucuses on January 15. But even his biggest supporters acknowledge there’s an enormous obstacle standing in the way of that coveted position: former president Donald Trump.
“The big thing I need to do is I just need to give an assurance and a green light: It’s okay not to vote for Trump, that it’s not against him, but it’s for someone who can lead on day one,” says DeSantis backer Bob Vander Plaats, president and CEO of the influential evangelical group the Family Leader.
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