Ron DeSantis fails to finish third in major Iowa poll: Republican insists we’ll ‘get it right’ on Monday night and rejects claims his campaign’s future is at stake
Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis shrugged off the results of the latest Iowa poll before caucus day, saying Sunday that his supporters were committed and would show up in subzero temperatures.
And he dismissed questions about whether his campaign was headed for disaster after he was expected to finish in third place on Monday.
That’s despite the fact that he wasted enormous resources in the state, where he visited all 99 counties.
“We’re going to do well on Monday,” he said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
‘Our voters are very motivated. I think it’s very difficult to gauge a caucus period in Iowa.”
Ron DeSantis was on CNN Sunday morning to defend his campaign after the final poll before the Iowa caucuses showed him slipping to third place in the crucial state
The NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll was conducted Jan. 7-12 among a likely 705 Republican caucusgoers. The margin of error is plus-minus 3.7 percentage points
Republicans will gather Monday night in gyms, anterooms and church halls to elect their favorite candidate.
It’s the first real test of who fares best with voters after a year of campaigning.
The outcome can make or break presidential campaigns.
The highly anticipated NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll released Saturday gave Donald Trump a 28-point lead.
And it showed Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, overtaking DeSantis.
That will be a huge blow to Florida’s governor if it is repeated in Monday’s caucus results.
But there are signs that his tremendous ground game could still be a factor.
The poll showed his supporters are the most likely to show up for the day and caucus.
Among DeSantis supporters, 62 percent said they will definitely show up. Among Trump supporters this figure drops to 56 percent and for Haley only 51 percent.
‘And these are people… who are very motivated. “We’ve spent a lot of time in Iowa going door to door trying to get people to commit to us,” he said, dismissing the idea that a bad result could spell the end of his campaign .
DeSantis has a great ground game. The test will be put to the test on Monday. Eli Weltman of Never Back Down, an independent group supporting DeSantis, talks to a voter in Marion on Wednesday
“We have a large number of people who have committed to the caucus and we expect these are the people who will come. So there’s a lot of excitement on the ground.
“We’re here for the long haul.”
But it wasn’t to be. DeSantis’ conservative and Christian credentials were intended to give him a lift in Iowa before the race turned toward New Hampshire and its more moderate Republicans.
Haley is challenged there by Trump for the win, while DeSantis is trailing badly.
DeSantis said he would fight any state.
“My opinion is that if you want to win, you have to fight for every delegate,” he said.
The Iowa caucus format requires voters to show up in person. Bitter weather is complicating the entire process, and forecasters are predicting the coldest Iowa caucus night on record — with temperatures as low as minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit.
The latest poll in Iowa gave Donald Trump a 28-point lead over second-placed Haley. That puts him on course for a record victory if he even comes close on Monday
Trump campaign insiders admit their biggest problem may be complacency, with supporters staying home because of the former president’s seemingly insurmountable lead.
And Saturday’s poll also suggests that Haley’s support may be weak, with much of her support coming from Democrats and independents, who will have to jump through the bureaucratic hurdle of registering as a Republican to join a caucus to live.
That leaves DeSantis hoping his big investment can still produce the kind of results that will allow him to continue fighting.
‘We say to our supporters: go out, bring some friends and family. That’s going to be a big blow,” he said.
Commentators said the poll suggested DeSantis was struggling.
“This is a tough poll for Governor DeSantis, who has his house on Iowa,” said Jimmy Centers, a Republican strategist who is out of alignment in this race.
“The good news is that many Iowans are leaving the door open to changing their minds, or haven’t decided on a candidate yet.
“But voters generally like to side with a winner or a candidate who is on the rise — neither of which he seems to be.”