Ron DeSantis visits Iowa as interest in likely Trump rival rises

Ahead of a widely expected presidential campaign, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis introduced himself to eager audiences of Iowa Republicans on Friday with a message that leaned into the antagonism toward the left that has made him a popular figure among conservatives.

Ahead of a widely expected presidential campaign, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis introduced himself to eager audiences of Iowa Republicans on Friday with a message that leaned into the antagonism toward the left that has made him a popular figure among conservatives.

"We will never surrender to the woke mob," DeSantis told an audience of more than 1,000 at the Rhythm City Casino Resort in the eastern Iowa city of Davenport, his first Iowa stop as he moves toward seeking the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. "Our state is where woke goes to die."

With the Iowa caucuses less than a year away, Republicans in the state are taking a harder look at DeSantis, who is emerging as a leading rival to Donald Trump. The former president, who is mounting his third bid for the White House, will be in Davenport on Monday as early signs warn that some Republicans may be looking for someone else to lead the party into the future.

Trump mocked DeSantis' trip on social media, asking "why would people show up?"

And White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre took issue with the Florida governor's threatening language that criticized young transgender people and their parents.

"When ... these MAGA Republicans don't agree with an issue or with policy, they don't bring forth something that's either going to have a good faith conversation. They go to this conversation of `woke.' ... What that turns into is hate; what that turns into is despicable policy."

But show up they did, including more than 1,000 Friday evening in the capital city, Des Moines, where DeSantis ignited his biggest ovation by accusing schools of seeking to impose a leftist agenda on students on issues of gender and race.