Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ campaign released a new TV ad on Wednesday touting Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ endorsement as DeSantis continues his push in the all-important early caucus state.
The ad, titled “Endorsement,” is set to run on cable and broadcast television starting Thursday. The 30-second spot the governor’s second ad on Iowa airwaves as part of a $2 million ad buy that started earlier this month and is slated to last through caucus day in January.
The ad leans heavily on soundbites from Reynolds’ endorsement speech and joint interview with NBC News, championing DeSantis as “probably the most effective leader” she knows. Reynolds’ speech in Des Moines encouraged Iowans to take a look at DeSantis’ record in Florida as one of the motivating factors behind her endorsement, but also told NBC News that former President Trump could not win another general election.
The DeSantis campaign has touted Reynolds’ influential backing, including bringing the Hawkeye State governor out on the campaign trail the day following her endorsement to a “meet and greet” style event in Davenport. With just about two months left until the Iowa caucuses, it’s so far unclear whether Reynolds’ endorsement will provide DeSantis’ campaign with enough momentum to overcome their significant polling deficit behind Trump.
The most recent NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll, which was conducted around two weeks before Reynolds endorsed DeSantis, found Trump with a sizable lead among likely GOP caucusgoers, with 43% backing Trump, 16% backing DeSantis, and 16% supporting former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley , and the rest of the GOP field in single digits.