“Let Iowans know what you’re going to do? Tell them your plan and then execute? Follow through on your promises that you’ve made? Wow,” Reynolds said with a laugh in a radio interview Thursday. Reynolds also hasn't been afraid to buck party orthodoxy, signing an executive order on the restoration of voting rights for former felons and proposing things like over-the-counter birth control. Reynolds had made it one of her top priorities, though critics raised concerns that it would drain money from public schools.įour races in which she intervened went in her candidate's favor, and the legislation she pushed forward was tied up in a bow by the end of the first month of this year's legislative session. But she's also willing to take on Republicans who challenge her, as she did in 2022 when she campaigned against incumbent lawmakers in her own party who had stood in the way of “school choice” legislation. She is willing to put conservative issues front and center when the moment calls for it, as she did in 2018 when the original abortion ban passed. She's just as apt to press ahead on policies cutting taxes and shrinking government as the social issues that have dominated the GOP presidential campaign so far. Reynolds, meanwhile, tends to go her own way. Nikki Haley said she always “knocks it out of the park.” Asa Hutchinson congratulated her, too, and former South Carolina Gov. Former Vice President Mike Pence called it a historic day, telling reporters he “couldn’t be more proud of Gov. The feeling appeared to be mutual at Friday's event. “I’m proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with them united in our respect for life,” she said Friday of the presidential candidates who addressed the forum. Still, the governor has not shied away from plunging into the middle of the campaign or comparing her record favorably to those who are running for president. Reynolds has said she is not entertaining rumors about her prospects as a 2024 Republican running mate. “I love it when we’re leading and showing other governors in other states that we can get it done,” Reynolds said in February to the Des Moines Register. Signing the bill there on Friday, with all of the attention directed toward Iowa, was a deliberate effort to drive a national conversation. The audience of a couple thousand people - including conservative leaders, presidential hopefuls and national news outlets - was a bonus. Reynolds decided to sign the bill at Friday’s event to celebrate the victory with those who have spent years fighting for new restrictions on abortion. “She is arguably the best governor in the country.” “She’s out there doing the right thing and we’re coming along beside her,” said Family Leader President and CEO Bob Vander Plaats, who introduced her. Republican strategists in Iowa say the bill signing showcased her devotion to the issues she cares about. DeSantis, whose campaign has struggled since its launch to establish him as the only plausible rival to the former president, doubled down on Saturday by saying he would consider Reynolds as a potential running mate.Īt least publicly, Reynolds isn’t likely to wade into the drama. Ron DeSantis, who has been the beneficiary of kind words from Reynolds, though she's stopped short of violating her pledge to stay neutral in the presidential contest with an endorsement. Other presidential candidates, well aware of her popularity with Iowa voters, rose to her defense. Trump, in posts on his Truth Social social media platform, had accused Reynolds of shirking her commitment to neutrality in the campaign, claiming credit for her rise to the governor's office. Reynolds pressed forward to sign the bill into law even as she shrugged off pointed criticism from former President Donald Trump.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |