vlog exclusive: Ron DeSantis launches Faith and Family Coalition with support from two dozen Iowa pastors
In an effort to rally Iowa's faith community and evangelical voters across the country, Florida Governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis is bringing together a national campaign coalition of pastors.
vlog was the first to report that DeSantis will launch his Faith and Family Coalition in Des Moines on Saturday. The coalition includes two dozen Iowa pastors from 18 counties across the state, along with pastors from across the country.
The operation comes as presidential candidates work to win over faith leaders and evangelical voters in Iowa. In 2016, found more than two-thirds of Republican caucusgoers self-identified as evangelicals.
For decades, the support of conservative Christians has often been a deciding factor in who wins the caucuses. That support could again play a major role in 2024.
Several Iowa pastors hope the new DeSantis coalition will lead the state's faith community to rally around DeSantis.
Jeremy Higgins, the lead pastor at Calvary Community Church in Cedar Rapids, hopes that if Iowa pastors "go out of their way to engage with their community, engage with other pastors in their community," they can "turn the tide" for DeSantis.
The most recent Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom Iowa Poll, released in late August, found DeSantis 23 percentage points behind frontrunner Donald Trump in Iowa.
However, with four months until the Iowa caucuses, state Representative and Grinnell pastor Jon Dunwell argues there's still time for DeSantis to overcome Trump's lead.
"That's where we play a role in reminding people, polls are polls, and it's a long ways yet," Dunwell said.
Dunwell will speak at the coalition launch in Des Moines on Saturday. After meeting with DeSantis and his wife Casey, Dunwell said he was encouraged by the governor's conservative record and believes his actions exemplify spiritual character.
"This man has opened himself up for me to have an influence in his life, and I'm going to take every opportunity for a leader who's that open and says, 'Hey, I want pastors praying for me. I want pastors speaking to me. I want people in engaging with me on important issues and having a seat at that table,'" Dunwell said. "That's what I love."
DeSantis spoke about his faith with vlog in an exclusive, one-on-one interview shortly after launching his official campaign in May.
"It's a foundation for my wife and I as parents, certainly foundational to the values that we're raising our three children with," DeSantis said. "And I think it gives you, as a public official, the foundation to understand that, you know, there is a true North out there."
He'll share more about his personal faith journey and platform on defending religious freedom and a "culture of life" in Iowa on Saturday, according to the DeSantis campaign.
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Each conversation will include a 1-on-1 interview with Rooker, followed by a roundtable discussion with undecided Republican voters who will have the chance to have their questions answered directly by the candidate.
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