Not long after the calendar turned to 2024, Kim Reynolds, the Republican governor of Iowa, signed on to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, and posted about the presidential primaries, where she emerged as a key supporter of Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida on former President Donald J. Trump.
But she didn’t post from her publicly verified @KimReynoldsIA account. Mrs. Reynolds used another one instead, @Kimberl26890376where in recent months she has shared her unfiltered feelings about the state of the Republican primaries ahead of the Iowa caucuses.
In this case, she reposted the meme of a DeSantis supporter. There were two photos side by side: one of Mr. DeSantis smiling with his wife and children; the other of Trump, flanked by four women at his fancy New Year’s Eve party. ‘The contrast is overwhelming…’ the text read.
Ms. Reynolds’ little-known Twitter account sits somewhere between public and private. Her photo is on the profile picture and the username is ‘Kimberly Reynolds’ (usually her name is Kim). But it is in no way related to her verified political record or that of her official governor, and it does not identify her as the governor of Iowa. As of Thursday morning, @Kimberl26890376 had 259 followers, a sign of obscurity, although they included a number of influential Iowa political operatives.
A spokesperson for Ms. Reynolds did not respond to a request for comment.
Ms. Reynolds has had the @Kimberl26890376 account since 2021, according to X, but the majority of her 58 posts have been made in recent months and are almost exclusively about the presidential primaries. She has used reposts to promote Mr. DeSantis’ media appearances and amplify criticism of Mr. Trump. For example, in November she shared a post from another DeSantis supporter who wrote: “Trump has loyalty, but demands it from everyone else. That’s FEALTY. That makes sense, because these people want a king.”
She has also “liked” a range of pro-Desantis, anti-Trump and anti-Nikki Haley content.
And she has used her obscure story to offer gentle criticism of Mr. DeSantis’ campaign strategy, at one point liking another user’s post urging him to hold more town halls. “The campaign needs to get more of these together as quickly as possible!” the message said.
Ms. Reynolds took a political risk by supporting Mr. DeSantis when he was well behind Mr. Trump last year, and she has campaigned aggressively to elevate him in the state, including appearing in some ads. She also posts about the primary race in her main report, including to mock Ms. Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, for her recent comment that New Hampshire voters will “correct” Iowans’ decision.
“I trust Iowans to make their own decisions. No ‘corrections’ needed!” Ms Reynolds wrote in a post on her main account on January 3.
In December, Ms. Reynolds used the @Kimberl26890376 account to encourage Mr. DeSantis. “100% kept promises kept!!” she wrote in one post. “Leader!” she wrote in another.