Iowa Republicans dash Ron DeSantis’ expectations, signaling their party belongs to Donald Trump

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ candidacy rolled into Iowa last spring as if it had been designed by a committee of drooling Republican officials in a GOP-leaning state.

A Navy veteran, DeSantis had been whisked into a second term and had a fresh set of conservative measures tucked under his arm and an ambitious $100-million political machine built with Iowa in mind. At first blush, it seemed to many to be the key to picking former President Donald Trump’s lock on the Hawkeye State’s Republican base.

The former Yale baseball player would touch them all in Iowa in the months to come, collecting the GOP-beloved governor’s endorsement and mimicking senior Sen. Chuck Grassley’s annual 99-county pilgrimage, all with his charming young family in tow.

Yet, even after his team in Iowa knocked on more than 940,000 doors and DeSantis himself headlined nearly 140 events, many Iowans simply never warmed to the sometimes dour and lecturing cultural warrior. “He’s not that charismatic, but I figured I should see him,” said Steve Kessler, a Nikki Haley supporter, at DeSantis’ last campaign stop Monday in Cedar Rapids.

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