The Republican candidates' courting of the group's members signifies its arrival as a major conservative player in national politics. Volunteers sporting shirts with the group’s logo could be seen working recently at DeSantis’ presidential campaign events in Iowa. COURTING MOMSOther Republican candidates also are cozying up to Moms for Liberty, which now claims 120,000 members in 44 states. Advocacy groups such as People For the American Way, ACT UP, Defense of Democracy and a Facebook-based effort called STOP Moms for Liberty organized protests in Philadelphia ahead of the Moms for Liberty conference. She said Moms for Liberty remains largely concerned with learning loss connected to school closures from the pandemic and that its opposition is driven by politics.

---

Persons: Robin Steenman, Judith, Brett Craig, Read, Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, “, ”, Tina Descovich, Tim Scott, Mike Pence, Nikki Haley, Descovich, DeSantis, Jazmyn Henderson, ” Bryan Griffin, Griffin, Nathan Layne, Colleen Jenkins, Alistair Bell Organizations: Liberty, Republican, Heritage Foundation, Leadership Institute, Trump, Iowa, Former South Carolina, Southern Poverty Law Center, Reuters, Way, ACT UP, Defense of Democracy, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Philadelphia, Florida, Iowa, U.S, South Carolina