Opinion: Why I switched my Iowa Caucuses endorsement from Donald Trump to Ron DeSantis

On July 13, I announced that I was switching my presidential endorsement from President Trump to the governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis. The motivation for my decision was the way the former president decided to go after our great governor, Kim Reynolds, on his Truth Social account.

He attacked Governor Reynolds for staying “neutral” in the presidential primary and refraining from endorsing a candidate. He also said she's not invited to his events anymore. It is essential that the Iowa governor stay neutral to uphold Iowa's first-in-the-nation status, and Governor Reynolds is a neutral and gracious host, welcoming all candidates. The attack from the former president was unprovoked and uncalled for.

Governor Reynolds has done an outstanding job in Iowa, and former President Trump should be supportive of successful fellow Republicans. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished here under Governor Reynolds’ leadership. She called us into a special session to pass the heartbeat bill to protect life after there’s a detectable heartbeat. We passed the largest expansion of school choice in state history. We passed a historic tax reform package to give Iowans relief from Joe Biden’s economy.

During my service in the Legislature, I’ve also come to know Governor Reynolds personally, as she and my fiancée attend the same church. What you see in public is what I’ve seen in private. She’s not just an amazing governor; she’s an outstanding person too.

When I look at Governor DeSantis, I see many of the qualities that I admire in Governor Reynolds. His record as governor of Florida is outstanding. He stood up to presidential medical adviser Anthony Fauci and saved Floridians’ livelihoods from job-killing lockdowns and vaccine mandates. He defended parents’ rights, kept kids in the classroom, and eliminated Critical Race Theory from Florida curriculums. He defunded the diversity, equity and inclusion bureaucracy in higher education and held tenured professors accountable. He turned Florida into a model for election integrity, and like Governor Reynolds, he signed a heartbeat bill into law to save countless lives. He has achieved the same type of common-sense policy victories in Florida as we have in Iowa under Governor Reynolds, and he will deliver historic success for the conservative movement as president as well.

Also, I served 29 years in the Marine Corps, with two combat tours in Iraq and just retired as a lieutenant colonel. I’m incredibly proud of my service, and the fact that Governor DeSantis himself served in the Navy and deployed to Iraq is yet another reason to support him. He’s the only veteran running for president in either party, and he’d be the first president to have served in a war in 30 years. He understands what our military needs, and how to restore integrity to our military. He’s put out a fantastic plan to get the military focused on the mission first, and to rip political agendas out of the military. He’s got the right ideas, the right mindset and a proven record of getting things done, so I’m confident he’ll get our military back on the right track and restore our foreign policy and proper placing on the world stage.

All these things made my decision easy and straightforward. Republicans need to stick together. I’m proud to support our excellent governor, Kim Reynolds, and I’m just as proud to endorse Gov. Ron DeSantis for president of the United States. Iowa Republicans should support him in the caucuses on January 15 to make him our nominee.

State Sen. Jeff Reichman is a Republican from Montrose who chairs the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Opinion: Why I switched my endorsement from Trump to DeSantis