A top evangelical leader in Iowa, Bob Vander Plaats, confirmed Tuesday that his organization received $95,000 from what Reuters originally described as the “DeSantis campaign, a super PAC linked to him and a nonprofit group” before he endorsed the governor’s presidential election.
Fox News’s Bret Baier questioned Vander Plaats on the report, which asserts that Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R-FL) campaign and groups associated with him gave a total of $95,000 to the nonprofit, the Family Leader Foundation, which Vander Plaats heads up. At the time, Reuters pointed to campaign finance reports “and a document prepared by an Iowa state lawmaker who was helping the Vander Plaats organization raise money for a July 14 presidential candidate forum.”
“Well, it’s definitely true,” Vander Plaats told Baier, encouraging “everybody to read the Reuters article.”
“Everything we do is above board,” he added.
According to the August Reuters article, “DeSantis and supporting groups got three pages of advertisements in a booklet distributed at the July forum attended by 2,000 Christian conservatives, and tickets to the summit, lunch and an after-dinner event.”
At the time, Vander Plaats dismissed the so-called fees, describing them as “not even close to exorbitant” for the prime opportunity to be involved at a forum of that caliber.
“My only regret is that we probably should have charged more,” he said, as the DeSantis campaign spun the $95,000 as a sponsorship of sorts.
DeSantis spokesperson Andrew Romeo expressed pride in the campaign sponsoring “an ad with one of the largest and most effective social conservative groups in the state of Iowa.”
Further, Plaats denied that his endorsement would have anything to do with the funds.
“My endorsement has never been and never will be for sale,” Vander Plaats said, according to the August Reuters article. “My only interest is in bold, courageous, principled leadership for this country.”
Tuesday, following that flow of money, Vander Plaats formally endorsed DeSantis.
“I am thrilled to throw my personal endorsement and support behind Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida,” he said during that Fox News interview with Baier, adding, “But at last Friday’s Thanksgiving Family Forum, he closed the sale on me. He was very clear about [how] we need a president who can serve two terms, not one term.”
He continued:
We don’t need a president that’s going to be a lame duck on day one. You need a president that is going to surround themselves with the best and brightest people versus having a hard time attracting them again. And someone who’s actually going to do what they say they’re going to do. And I just think he’s got the spine to do it and I think he’s got the experience to win for us.
The endorsement is a prize to DeSantis, as Vander Plaats also supported former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee’s (R) 2008 campaign, as well as former Sen. Rick Santorum’s (R-PA) and Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-TX), all of whom won the Iowa caucus in their respective election years.
In addition, Vander Plaats is no stranger to this type of controversy, as he came under the microscope about ten years ago after the 2012 Iowa caucuses, as some suspected he was paid for his endorsement of Santorum.
As the Des Moines Register reported:
Fred Karger, a former Republican presidential hopeful and openly gay activist from California, filed the complaint in 2013 claiming consultants with the National Organization for Marriage and Santorum campaign staffers worked together to pay Vander Plaats and his organization The Family Leader $1 million for an endorsement two weeks ahead of the caucuses.
Karger’s complaint also charged that Vander Plaats gave his group’s “voter list” to the Santorum campaign, whose staff in turn failed to disclose the move as a donation or in-kind contribution.
However, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) ultimately dismissed the complaint. Regardless of the suspicions and controversy, DeSantis celebrated the endorsement.
“As I’ve made my way through 98 of Iowa’s 99 counties, Iowans have shared what a critical role @bobvanderplaats plays in engaging Iowa’s faith community in the key battles that matter. His support tells Iowans they can trust me to fight and win for them,” he wrote on X.
“We’re thrilled to have Bob and Darla on Team DeSantis and are thankful for their friendship as we’ve gotten to know them throughout this campaign,” he continued, adding, “The road to America’s revival starts in Iowa, and we will get the job done.”
However, that endorsement did not come without criticism, as some pointed out that Vander Plaats has a losing record, and others questioned the true motivations of the endorsement.
“Dude you do remember your still a governor in FL..?? We got shit here you need to address but he’ll maybe move to Iowa,” one commenter wrote.
“Dude’s literally taking cash from @NvrBackDown24 …your dishonesty is amazing, but not surprising,” another said.
“It’s hard to respect any endorsement that comes out for you when we know you are paying people for them,” another remarked, as former President Donald Trump chimed in on Truth Social.
“Ron DeDeSanctimonious, in an act of sheer desperation, paid Iowa preacher Bob Vander Plaats $100,000, and then got his Endorsement? We did not seek it. What is going on here?” he asked.
In a statement released by the Trump campaign, titled, “Bob Sander Plaat$ Endorses A Candidate Who Will Never Be President,” the campaign noted that “over 150 faith leaders are organizing their congregations for President Trump and not a single one demanded nearly $100k like Bob Sander Platt$ did from Ron DeSantis.”
“When you are actually the leader of a movement like President Trump is, people are willing to support you for free,” the statement continued.
Regardless, the DeSantis campaign surely hopes this endorsement will serve as fuel to the governor’s flailing presidential campaign, as recent polls show him slipping in early states, including Iowa, where former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is beginning to gain steam, tying DeSantis for second place as he falls to third in South Carolina and fourth in New Hampshire.
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