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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis touts new book during visit to Iowa

While DeSantis has yet to announce an official 2024 run, his trip echoes those of other Republican presidential hopefuls.

DES MOINES, Iowa — Florida Governor Ron DeSantis made his first appearances in Iowa Friday, talking about his new book, but also testing the waters for a possible 2024 presidential run. 

DeSantis appeared with Gov. Kim Reynolds at the Iowa State Fairgrounds at 4 p.m. to promote his new book, "The Courage to Be Free," which was released last week.

It was a lively crowd, as Reynolds shared some of the similarities between her and DeSantis' political approaches. 

At the rally, DeSantis shared an array of stances on issues such as the pandemic, taxes and immigration.

He had the whole room on their feet when discussing education, critical race theory and gender identity. 

"The purpose of our schools is to educate kids, not to indoctrinate kids," he said. "We believe in the rights of parents to be involved in the education and upbringing of kids." 

DeSantis' visit comes the week that Iowa's statehouse passed legislation banning gender-affirming care for youth. 

While DeSantis has yet to announce an official 2024 run, his trip echoes those of other Republican presidential hopefuls, such as Nikki Haley, Tim Scott, Vivek Ramaswamy and Mike Pence

In addition, former President Donald Trump will make his first visit to Iowa for the 2024 election cycle on March 13 in Davenport. 

The closely timed Iowa visits between DeSantis and Trump highlight the growing rivalry between the two, as political pundits continue to point to DeSantis as a top alternative to Trump. 

In addition to his stop in Des Moines, DeSantis also appeared in Davenport on Friday morning. 

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