The memo, shared with The Associated Press, pointed to Reynolds’ surprise endorsement — a rarity for sitting Iowa governors before the caucuses — as proof that DeSantis could cut into Trump’s margins.

“Everyone can universally agree that if Trump were to win big in Iowa it would create media and political momentum for his candidacy that would be difficult to stop heading into New Hampshire,” reads the memo, penned by campaign manager James Uthmeier, deputy manager David Polyansky and senior adviser Ryan Tyson.

“She very quickly has learned how to deploy political power and how to play in the big game — and how to win,” said John Stineman, a Republican strategist who has managed Iowa caucus campaigns.

A Des Moines Register poll published last week showed Haley tied with DeSantis for second in Iowa, which holds the first-in-the-nation GOP caucuses on Jan. 15.

That’s 27 percentage points behind Trump, whose support was virtually unchanged since August in spite of several criminal indictments and fears that he might lose again to President Joe Biden.

“EVEN IF DeSantis were to do well in Iowa, which is a big ‘if’ given his current decline, he is in such a weak position in New Hampshire and South Carolina that it doesn’t matter.

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