By James Oliphant
CLIVE, Iowa (Reuters) -Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Tuesday told voters in the key early-voting state of Iowa that the nation is "going in the wrong direction" as he kicked off his first in-person campaign event as he seeks the Republican 2024 presidential nomination.
"We can see it," DeSantis said, "and we can feel it."
DeSantis, who launched his campaign in a glitch-plagued virtual forum on Twitter last week, has now turned to old-school politicking, beginning with two days in Iowa and then on to New Hampshire and South Carolina on a tour that will be closely watched to see if the buttoned-down, policy-minded governor can flash interpersonal skills that some critics have said he lacks.
Former President Donald Trump, the front-runner in the Republican race, will be right behind him. Trump will hold events in Iowa the day DeSantis stumps in New Hampshire, a sign the battle for the nomination is about to enter a more intense phase.
Iowa is a key state for DeSantis. The Iowa caucuses next February will be the first nominating contest in the nation, and the state's sizeable evangelical Christian population has sometimes been at odds with Trump.
Trump lost the caucuses in 2016 to U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, who was able to attract much of the evangelical vote. It was little surprise, then, that DeSantis held his initial Iowa event in an evangelical church auditorium outside of Des Moines.
DeSantis was introduced by Iowa's Republican governor, Kim Reynolds, and was joined by his wife, Casey DeSantis.
"I have a hunch they're going to be here a lot," Reynolds said.
DeSantis will hold four campaign events across the state on Wednesday as he looks to introduce himself to Iowa voters who are notorious for wanting to see candidates close-up before they attend the caucuses for picking party nominees.
Todd Jacklin of Johnston, Iowa, 62, was volunteering for the event, but that did not mean he was sold on DeSantis. He was there to listen, he said.
"I'm going to keep things open until next February," he said.
The nascent DeSantis campaign has been buttressed by a well-funded Super PAC, Never Back Down, which has taken on many of the day-to-day responsibilities of a presidential effort. At the Tuesday rally, workers for the group were signing up attendees to receive campaign messages and fund-raising pitches.
Also in attendance were members of Moms for Liberty, a national conservative advocacy group that opposes liberal education polices and whose efforts in Florida have been strongly supported by DeSantis.
In recent days, DeSantis has been sharpening his attacks on Trump by suggesting the former president drifted away from conservative principles by supporting immigration reform and robust anti-COVID pandemic policies.
(Reporting by James Oliphant; Editing by Leslie Adler)
