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STORY: "It is great to be back and it's great for me to report that our great American comeback starts by sending Joe Biden back to his basement in Delaware. I mean, he spent so much of his time this president, on vacation, we might as well make it permanent," DeSantis told the crowd in an evangelical church.

Iowa is a key state for DeSantis. The Iowa caucuses next February will be the first nominating contest in the nation, and the state's sizeable evangelical Christian population has sometimes been at odds with former president Donald Trump.

DeSantis, who launched his campaign in a glitch-plagued virtual forum on Twitter last week, has now turned to old-school politicking, beginning with two days in Iowa and then on to New Hampshire and South Carolina on a tour that will be closely watched to see if the buttoned-down, policy-minded governor can flash interpersonal skills that some critics have said he lacks.