Presidential Candidate and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis made one of his first stops of his campaign in Pella Wednesday afternoon. DeSantis spoke to a crowd at Sun Valley Barn following an introduction by Pella’s long time State Senator Ken Rozenboom.

DeSantis emphasized the similarities in legislative framework between the States of Iowa and Florida, as many have been pacing the rest of the nation in terms of what their opponents consider to be controversial bills addressing what is taught and said by teachers and the expansion of public funding for use in private schools.

“I want to thank Ken and all of the legislators here for not just their support, but much more importantly, the work that they’ve done,” he said. “Because I think if you look around at the last few election cycles, there’s been a lot that Republicans have had to cheer, but I think Iowa and Florida are two places to show how it is done.”

DeSantis is among many Republicans attempting to win not only the Iowa Caucus, but the Republican primary, in order to challenge incumbent Joe Biden in the November 2024 election.