Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' Presidential Campaign

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has placed his bet on Iowa as he runs for president, dedicating the majority of his time and resources to the state. In fact, his campaign has relocated one-third of its staff to Iowa and he has personally visited all 99 counties, participating in over 170 events, according to his campaign team.

The super PAC supporting DeSantis, called "Never Back Down," has also been hard at work in Iowa. They claim to have knocked on 770,000 doors and collected over 40,000 signed "commitment to caucus" cards from voters.

As the January 15 caucuses draw near, DeSantis has received notable endorsements from influential figures such as evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats and Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds. Reynolds, in fact, is the first governor to endorse a candidate before the caucuses since 1996.

However, DeSantis faces an uphill battle in Iowa. The latest CBS News poll shows that he is trailing former President Donald Trump by a significant 36 points. Additionally, he has been engaging in a war of words with former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who is gaining momentum in New Hampshire, the second state to hold a GOP nominating contest, according to CBS News polling.

"That's the frustrating thing for those of us who'd rather turn the page [on Trump]. Trump operates on his own schedule. He's grown and I just think these guys are gonna have to try to hold him under 50% in order to have an argument," said a veteran Iowa-based GOP strategist, who is not working for any candidate this cycle.

On the campaign trail in Iowa this week, a candidate and his surrogate have been downplaying the polls. Asked by a voter in Dubuque Wednesday about polling in New Hampshire showing the candidate behind another candidate, the candidate responded, "First of all, who cares about polls? You guys vote."

After a significant victory in a gubernatorial race in 2022 — a far more comfortable margin than in 2018, when the candidate won by less than 1 point — the New York Post dubbed the candidate "DeFuture" in a front-page headline, and the candidate emerged as the clear favorite to challenge Trump for the GOP presidential nomination.

Once the candidate entered the presidential race, the campaign talked about the primaries as a "two-man" race and was confident the candidate would be able to winnow the race down to him and Trump.

But the candidate's run has been riddled with personnel drama, a rising threat from another candidate who is ramping up her schedule in Iowa, and a widening poll gap with Trump.

"He can't come in second and get beat by 30 points. Nobody can. If Trump wins by 30 points. I mean how are you going to make the case to your donors and voters that you got second place and got beat by 30+ percent?" said a former co-chairman of the Iowa Republican Party between 2014 and 2021, who is backing DeSantis and said he'd be "shocked" if Trump wins by 30 points, as polling suggests he might.

"[DeSantis] needs wins to get the momentum to persuade the whole country," said a precinct captain for DeSantis who saw him and his wife, Casey, at a Perkins Diner in Dubuque. "Second place is just barely acceptable."

Asked after a town hall in Adel if Iowa is a "must win" contest, DeSantis predicted he'd win the state but a win "doesn't guarantee you anything." 

"People have won it and not [gotten the nomination], people have not won it and won [the nomination]. You need a majority of the delegates, and this is a long haul. And we're gonna be fighting all over the country over these next many months," he said.

DeSantis' campaign deputy campaign director argued the campaign is "built for the long haul" and pointed to DeSantis' filing for ballot access in 19 states after Iowa.

"You don't beat the former incumbent president of the United States in one fell swoop," said the deputy campaign director. "That's just not how this works. To score the upset, you must fight for every inch and do whatever it takes to get it to the full 12 rounds. And that's what our aim is," he added.