Big endorsements haven't moved the needle for Trump's rivals in Iowa, poll finds

Republican politicians and organizations opposed to former President Donald Trump have delivered high-profile endorsements of other candidates over the past month in an effort to change the race for the GOP presidential nomination.

But those endorsements haven't moved the needle politically in Iowa, according to the new NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll of the state.

At least not yet.

In addition to showing Trump with more than a 30-point lead over his nearest competition, the poll finds majorities of likely Iowa Republican caucusgoers saying that the endorsements don't affect how they will vote in the upcoming Jan. 15 contest.

Fifty-four percent of likely GOP caucusgoers say that Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds' endorsement of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis doesn't matter to their vote choice.

That compares with 31% who say the Reynolds endorsement makes them more likely to vote for DeSantis — higher than DeSantis' current level of caucus support, but still not enough to catch Trump — and 14% who say it makes them less likely to support him.

Also, 73% of likely caucusgoers say that Iowa evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats' endorsement of DeSantis doesn't matter to them.

And 71% say that that Americans for Prosperity's endorsement of former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley doesn't matter to their vote choice. (Americans For Prosperity is the political arm of the conservative Koch political network.)

"These endorsements didn’t hurt Trump," said pollster J. Ann Selzer, who conducted the NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom survey.

Poll respondent Mckray Smalley, 34, of Sheffield, Iowa, says he remains undecided between Trump and DeSantis, though might be leaning more in Trump's direction.

Still, Smalley says that Reynolds' endorsement of DeSantis doesn't matter to him.

"I don't care who endorses who," he said. "I make up my own decision."

Diana Arter, 74, of Waterloo, Iowa, agrees. “I have to make up my own mind who I think will do a better job and hope and pray that I make the right decision,” said Arter, who also is deciding between Trump and DeSantis.

Despite Reynolds' endorsement not mattering to a majority of likely Iowa Republican caucusgoers, it hasn't backfired on the popular governor, either.

In the poll, 78% of likely caucusgoers have a favorable view of Reynolds, compared with 20% who have an unfavorable view.

That's essentially unchanged from August's NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll, when the governor's rating was 81% favorable, 18% unfavorable.

“She is wonderful,” Gaylord Victora, 69, of Ames, Iowa, said of the governor.

“But I want the candidate to stand on their own,” Victora added, explaining why Reynolds’ endorsement of DeSantis hasn’t influenced his vote.