Des Moines, Iowa — The host of an Iowa event that will feature six of the candidates running for the GOP’s next presidential nomination says the race is wide open.
Sheldon native Bob Vander Plaats, president and CEO of The Family Leader, has hosted Donald Trump at two of the group’s previous summits in 2013 and 2015.
The candidates Vander Plaats just mentioned are the six who’ll speak Friday at the Family Leadership Summit he’s hosting in Des Moines. Trump turned down an invitation to join the group. Vander Plaats, an influential leader in the evangelical Christian movement, endorsed Republicans Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum and Ted Cruz prior to their victories in the last three competitive Iowa Caucuses. Vander Plaats says he’s concerned about having Trump as the GOP’s presidential nominee in 2024.
This week Vander Plaats has said it was not very smart for Trump to go after Governor Kim Reynolds for remaining neutral and not endorsing a candidate before the Iowa Caucuses. To avoid the 2016 scenario that saw Trump emerge from a field of 16 Republican candidates, Vander Plaats says he’s encouraged this cycle’s dozen or so candidates to evaluate their chances and step aside if it’s not their time.
Vander Plaats made his comments during a recent appearance on Iowa Press on Iowa PBS.
