- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis placed in a distant second in Monday’s Iowa caucus, trailing former President Donald Trump by roughly 30 points.
- As the governor’s path forward to the nomination remain up in the air following Trump’s big win, several GOP strategists warned the Daily Caller News Foundation of DeSantis’ tough odds in the upcoming early primary states.
- “He says he punched a ticket out of Iowa but it’s a bus ticket. While Trump is on a rocket ship. Nothing is stopping Trump now,” Mike Dennehy, a veteran New Hampshire GOP strategist, told the DCNF. “I don’t believe there is a single thing DeSantis can do after betting his entire campaign in Iowa and losing by 30 points. His money will dry up, he will be mired in single digits in NH and he will likely be closing up shop the day after New Hampshire.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will face an uphill battle to regain relevance after going all-in on Iowa but still finishing a distant second in Monday’s caucus, Republican operatives told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Former President Donald Trump received a whopping 51% support in the Hawkeye State, followed by DeSantis at 21.2%, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley at 19.1% and conservative businessman Vivek Ramaswamy at 7.7%, according to The Associated Press. Though DeSantis’ campaign maintains the governor will stay in the race for New Hampshire and beyond, Republican strategists warned of his long odds in other states after Trump’s massive win in Iowa.
“Best thing DeSantis can do now is endorse Trump and bide his time for four years from now,” Mark Weaver, a veteran Republican strategist, told the DCNF. “He has a future in this party if he wants one but — short of a wildly unforeseen circumstance — there will be no stopping Donald Trump from getting this nomination.”
Despite completing the “Full Grassley,” where DeSantis visited all of Iowa’s 99 counties, Trump won them all except for one, which Haley secured by a single vote, according to the Iowa City Press-Citizen.
The governor and his aligned political action committees (PACs), namely Never Back Down, engaged in significant ground game efforts and broadcast advertising in Iowa. Pro-DeSantis ads in Iowa totaled $59.9 million this cycle, according to AdImpact.
Media organizations like the AP, CNN and Fox News called the race for Trump early in the night, roughly 30 minutes after voting began. The early call sparked outrage from the DeSantis campaign, with communications director Andrew Romeo arguing it was “election interference” as many Iowans had not yet cast their ballots.
DeSantis also slammed the media for calling the race prematurely during a speech following the caucus, adding that “they were writing our obituary months ago.” (RELATED: Trump Wins Iowa Caucus In Landslide)
“They threw everything at Ron DeSantis. They couldn’t kill him. He is not only still standing, but he’s now earned his ticket out of Iowa,” a DeSantis campaign senior official told the DCNF in response to questions about the governor’s path forward. “This is going to be a long battle ahead, but that is what this campaign is built for. The stakes are too high for this nation and we will not back down.”
DeSantis had been polling in second place behind only Trump in Iowa for the large majority of his campaign, with Haley edging him out just a week ahead of the caucus, according to the RealClearPolitics (RCP) average.
The final NBC News/Des Moines/Mediacom survey released two days prior to Monday’s contest indicated Trump had 48% support, followed by Haley at 20%, DeSantis at 16% and Ramaswamy at 8%. The businessman withdrew from the race after coming in fourth place and endorsed Trump for president.
Jimmy Centers, a Republican political operative in Iowa and presidential campaign veteran, believes DeSantis’ second place win “should have been his goal all along.”
“The challenge is his campaign allowed expectations to get wildly out of control in Iowa to the point that he and his surrogates were predicting an outright win,” Centers told the DCNF.
DeSantis’ campaign largely allocated all of its resources toward the Iowa caucus, and the governor repeatedly predicted he was going to win the state. The governor also secured major endorsements in the state from Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds and prominent evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats.
Trump boasted a historic win, securing the largest margin of victory in caucus history.
“The Iowa Caucus results demonstrate the strength of Trump’s grip on the Republican Party,” said Centers. “Without a rapid consolidation of the field, it’s hard to imagine how he can be slowed in his race to secure the nomination.”
DES MOINES, IOWA – JANUARY 15: Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump acknowledges supporters during his caucus night event at the Iowa Events Center. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Despite DeSantis’ long odds in the remaining early states, the governor is traveling to South Carolina and New Hampshire on Tuesday following the caucus, according to CBS News. New Hampshire’s primary is on Jan. 23 and South Carolina’s will take place on Feb. 24.
Mike McKenna, GOP consultant and president of MWR Strategies, believes that “Iowa was it” for DeSantis’ 2024 bid, but argued “he may as well stay in for the extra couple of weeks.”
Veteran New Hampshire Republican strategist Mike Dennehy played down DeSantis’ chances in the first-in-the-nation state after his loss in Iowa.
“He says he punched a ticket out of Iowa but it’s a bus ticket. While Trump is on a rocket ship. Nothing is stopping Trump now,” Dennehy told the DCNF. “I don’t believe there is a single thing DeSantis can do after betting his entire campaign in Iowa and losing by 30 points. His money will dry up, he will be mired in single digits in NH and he will likely be closing up shop the day after New Hampshire.”
DeSantis is currently polling in fourth place for the New Hampshire primary with 6.5% support behind Trump, Haley and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who suspended his presidential campaign last week, according to the RCP average. In South Carolina, DeSantis is faring better in third place with 11% support, but remains over 10 points behind Haley, the state’s former governor.
Haley has focused her efforts largely on New Hampshire, where she has received the endorsement of Republican Gov. Chris Sununu and is polling the closest against Trump. However, the former ambassador announced on Tuesday she will not be participating in the two upcoming New Hampshire debates unless Trump attends them, as well.
DeSantis slammed Haley’s decision in a post on X, formerly Twitter, arguing that the former ambassador is “afraid to debate” and claiming she aims to be Trump’s running mate.
“I won’t snub New Hampshire voters like both Nikki Haley and Donald Trump, and plan to honor my commitments. I look forward to debating two empty podiums in the Granite State this week,” DeSantis wrote.
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