Prominent Iowa Evangelical Bob Vander Plaats Expected to Endorse DeSantis

Prominent Iowa evangelical Bob Vander Plaats is expected to endorse Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the GOP presidential race, according multiple reports.

Vander Plaats is the president and CEO of The Family Leader, a social conservative organization based in Iowa. DeSantis, former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy attended the organization's Thanksgiving forum last week.

Evangelical voters traditionally play an outsized role in Iowa, which hosts the first nominating contest on the 2024 Republican calendar.

DeSantis has focused heavily on the Hawkeye State. He also earned the endorsement of Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds earlier this month.

Vander Plaats' potential endorsement comes as former President Donald Trump, the 2024 GOP frontrunner, continues to see a growing rift between himself and members of evangelical groups, including Vander Plaats. The former president was not invited to a major evangelical event earlier this year.

Trump has maintained a double-digit lead in the polls in Iowa over DeSantis and the rest of the Republican field.