[1/2] File photo: Bob Vander Plaats, President and CEO of The Family Leader, speaks during the Family Leadership Summit at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S., July 14, 2023.
DeSantis had courted Vander Plaats, president and CEO of the Christian advocacy group the Family Leader, in recent months.
"If President Trump wins Iowa here, I think it's going to be awfully hard to make the case that you can beat President Trump.
Recent polls have shown Trump with about a 30-percentage-point edge in Iowa over DeSantis and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley.
As he has before, Vander Plaats in the interview denied any connection between the funds and his support.
Persons:
Bob Vander Plaats, Scott Morgan, Ron DeSantis, Donald Trump, Iowa’s, Vander Plaats, Trump, Joe Biden, DeSantis, Iowans, Nikki Haley, Ted Cruz, Trump’s pollster, Tony Fabrizio, Kim Reynolds, Haley, James Oliphant, Alexandra Ulmer, Gram Slattery, Daniel Wallis, Lisa Shumaker
Organizations:
Iowa, REUTERS, Republican, Fox News, Democrat, Reuters, DeSantis, United Nations, U.S, Trump, Thomson
Locations:
Des Moines , Iowa, U.S, Florida, Iowa, DeSantis