Meet the DeSantis campaigner who has knocked on more than 22,000 doors in Iowa – but is it enough to keep the Florida governor in the 2024 race?

A meter of snow and sub-zero temperatures won’t stop Eli Weltman from knocking on his 22,385th door of the campaign.

His Ariat cowboy boots disappear into the fresh snowfall as the 20-year-old Californian makes his way from sidewalk to sidewalk in Marion, a small town in eastern Iowa.

Laura Scherbaum, 39, opens the door and listens to his 30-second pitch, describing how he works for Never Back Down, an independent group backing Ron DeSantis in the 2024 Republican primary.

It’s a victory. She fills out one of his “commit to caucus” forms and says she will stop by Monday to show her support for the Florida governor, who is seeking the Republican nomination to take on Joe Biden at the presidential elections.

It seems like a long time ago that DeSantis was a rising star and the frontrunner to win the race. In Iowa, the first state to choose his preferred candidate, he was now about thirty points behind Donald Trump, according to polls.

But the super PAC Never Back Down is all-in. If it can’t win state for DeSantis, it will try to use its massive fundraising machine and ground game to move him to a strong second-place finish, cementing him as the best. alternative to Trump.

And with more snow on the way and temperatures forecast to drop to minus 7 degrees Celsius on Monday, anything can still happen if people stay at home.

Weltman, who left life as a business owner near Sacramento in July to live in a hotel in Iowa, said he talks to people all day. And his experience on the doorstep suggests DeSantis is doing much better than the headlines predict.

“If he’s not their first choice, he’s usually their second choice,” he said. “And the only reason some people are hesitant is because they’re so concerned about the polls.”

He spoke to DailyMail.com on Wednesday morning at the start of a typical 10-hour day.

He described how it was Florida’s governor’s response to the pandemic, keeping his state open and sticking to his values, that convinced him to support DeSantis.

Meanwhile, locals shoveled snow or sat in their cars, engines running, windshields clearing.

The icy conditions could be an advantage, Weltman said as he checked his Never Back Down phone app for the next address. ‘The worse the weather, the more respect they have for your arrival.’

His first six doors were broken before Scherbaum, a homemaker, answered the door.

“I think he’s the most conservative candidate,” she said. ‘Nikki Haley, I think it’s too liberal.

“I like Donald Trump, but Ron DeSantis, I like his take on woke issues.”

As he retraces his footsteps to his rental car, driven by his girlfriend and one of his dogs, he said people in Iowa tend to be honest.

“If they say they’re going to caucus, they will,” he said. “They’ll tell you soon if they don’t.”

The ground game is huge.

Never Back Down says it has collected 40,000 caucus pledges, opening more than 915,000 doors.

By caucus day, the country hopes to have added another 90 volunteers to its ranks.

DeSantis has taken the traditional approach to fighting for Iowa. He has visited all 99 provinces, including a stop at the world’s largest popcorn ball, unlike Trump who has stayed at his favorite large, regular rallies.

His court schedule, in which he is fighting four criminal cases, has also limited his ability to travel to the early states.

Republican operative David Kochel, a veteran of the caucus, said Never Back Down had built an impressive ground game. Knocking on doors and talking to voters was simply the best possible form of data collection.

“It’s an expensive way, but a very good way to investigate and determine who is for you and who is not for you,” he said.

“That said, knocking on a door doesn’t increase your support. You only measure what is there.’

Changing minds, he added, would require appearances at city hall, flyers, TV ads and more.

“Has he done enough to convince enough people to put him within Trump’s reach? He’s kind of down right now, you know,” he said.

A poll for DailyMail.com conducted by JL Partners shows DeSantis is reaching voters, but his struggles with Haley may undermine that effort.

In a small sample of 100 Iowa voters, 51 percent said they had heard most from DeSantis, while 43 percent said they had heard more from Haley. (The sample size is small, so conclusions should be taken with a small grain of salt.)

About 47 percent also said DeSantis had the better campaign of the two, compared to 43 percent for Haley.

But 51 percent said they had seen more of Haley’s ads; to 43 percent who had seen more DeSantis ads.

Dave Vasquez, spokesman for Never Back Down, said the organization was ready for Monday.

“We have an extensive network of volunteers, supporters and community leaders who have helped reach nearly a million doors in Iowa – and they are ready for caucus night,” he said.

“We have more than 1,700 county leaders across the state who are excited to advocate for Governor Ron DeSantis, and there is no other operation in the state that even comes close to our organization on the ground.”

After two hours of trudging through the snow, Weltman had knocked on 19 doors.

He had spoken to three DeSantis supporters (one of whom opened the door without pants), a Haley precinct captain (who said, “Please, we have to stop Trump) and two Trump households.

Don’t be put off by the opinion polls, he said afterwards.

‘I talk to people all day long. That’s what I do. And I enjoy doing it,” he said.

“When we first came here, it really explained why I’m for DeSantis. These are the great things he has done,” he said with a smile. “And over time, they’ve become people who immediately tell you they’re for DeSantis.”