\n<\/p>\n
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis<\/strong> said he\u2019d consider Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds<\/strong> as a potential running mate at an event during his two-day tour through the state. \u201cOf course,\u201d he said on Saturday when asked about the prospect of running with Reynolds, who is extremely popular in her state and boasts a 90 percent approval rating among Republicans. \u201cI mean, she\u2019s one of the top public servants in America.\u201d<\/p>\n The statement is just the latest example of a growing coziness between the two governors, as DeSantis hopes to mount a strong challenge to current Republican frontrunner Donald Trump<\/strong> chief rival in the Iowa caucus in January and revive his flagging campaign. The campaign recently hired a former Iowa state senator as a \u201csenior adviser on all things Iowa,\u201d Axios reported<\/a>, and has embarked on a blitz of events in the state.<\/p>\n As part of his Iowa-focused strategy, DeSantis is hoping to exploit an emerging rift between Trump and Reynolds, which came to a head after a New York Times<\/em> report<\/a> detailed the Iowa governor\u2019s attempts at \u201csoftening the ground in Iowa for Mr. DeSantis.\u201d To date, Reynolds has followed Iowa tradition and held off endorsing any Republican presidential candidate, but she has appeared on numerous occasions with DeSantis and frequently praised his leadership.<\/p>\n \u201cI opened up the Governor position for Kim Reynolds,\u201d Trump wrote<\/a> in a Truth Social post on Monday, referring to his appointment of Reynold\u2019s predecessor to his administration, which allowed Reynolds to run. \u201c& when she fell behind, I ENDORSED her, did big Rallies, & she won.\u201d Trump added that he would not invite Reynolds to his campaign events. Following the post, DeSantis wrote<\/a> on Twitter that Reynolds is \u201ca strong leader who knows how to ignore the chirping and get it done.\u201d<\/p>\n That same day, the Trump campaign said it would skip the Family Leader summit in Des Moines, hosted by a conservative evangelical group. DeSantis called<\/a> the move \u201ca snub of Iowa conservatives.\u201d<\/p>\n In response to Trump\u2019s attacks on Reynolds, one Iowa state senator who had previously pledged his support to Trump flipped to DeSantis, Politico reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n