Presidential candidate Ron DeSantis has gained a new supporter.

Iowa state senator Jeff Reichman announced Thursday that he is no longer backing Donald Trump and is instead flipping to the Florida governor.

What You Need To Know

  • Iowa state Senator Jeff Reichman announced Thursday that he is flipping his support for the 2024 GOP nominee from Donald Trump to Ron DeSantis

  • Reichman's endorsement comes days after Trump criticized Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and the state's new six-week abortion ban

  • DeSantis has 39 endorsements from Iowa state legislators

  • Trump leads DeSantis by 29 points in a July YouGov/Economist poll

“Iowa Republicans must be united if we are going to take our country back and reverse Joe Biden’s failures,” Reichman said in a statement. “Governor DeSantis has achieved the same type of commonsense policy victories in Florida as we have in Iowa under Governor Kim Reynolds, and he will deliver historic success for the conservative movement as president as well.”

Reichman’s switch comes after Trump declined to attend an evangelical leadership summit where six other Republican presidential contenders are being interviewed by former Fox News host Tucker Carlson Friday.

Earlier in the week, Trump criticized the state’s new six-week abortion ban as well as Iowa’s Republican Governor, Kim Reynolds.

Reichman’s endorsement is his 39th from Iowa state legislators. DeSantis plans to attend several events in the Hawkeye state this weekend.

Despite the endorsement, DeSantis still trails Trump as the likely GOP nominee. A YouGov/Economist poll of 549 Republicans and Republican-leaning Independents taken this month found 49% prefer Trump for the GOP’s 2024 presidential candidate. DeSantis is a distant second at 20%.