Kim Reynolds

Kim Reynolds has served as Governor of Iowa since May 2017 — initially completing Terry Branstad's term after his appointment as U.S. Ambassador to China, then winning full terms in 2018 and 2022 — making her one of the longest-serving Republican governors in the country and one of the most prominent Republican women in national politics. Born August 4, 1959, in St. Charles, Iowa, Reynolds grew up in a farm community in southern Iowa, attended Iowa State University, and built a career in county government and state taxation before entering the Iowa legislature and rising to Lieutenant Governor. Her evangelical Christian faith and her connections to Iowa's conservative rural base have made strong Israel support a natural and consistent element of her public identity throughout her governorship.

Reynolds signed Iowa's anti-BDS legislation and has participated in the network of Republican governors who have used state procurement and investment tools to enforce non-participation in boycotts of Israel. She signed a proclamation condemning Hamas following the October 7 attacks and directed state agencies to review and strengthen Iowa's anti-BDS compliance mechanisms. Iowa's congressional delegation, state legislature, and governor's office have maintained consistent pro-Israel positioning throughout the post-October 7 period, and Reynolds has been among the governors willing to use the bully pulpit of the office to make explicit, visible statements of solidarity with Israel — including references to biblical covenant relationships between the Christian tradition and the Jewish people that resonate with Iowa's evangelical conservative base.

Her national profile has grown significantly through her role in Iowa presidential caucuses — both parties' candidates have courted Iowa governors, and Reynolds's visible endorsement relationships and her reputation as a disciplined, principled conservative have given her influence in national Republican circles beyond her state's size. Her support for Israel functions as part of a coherent conservative identity that connects foreign policy to faith, American exceptionalism to democratic alliance, and state governance to national values. At Rank 93, Reynolds represents the Midwestern evangelical Republican governor whose support for Israel is theological, political, and personal — and who has used the tools of state government consistently to express that support in concrete policy rather than in symbolic rhetoric alone.