West Des Moines, Iowa — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis insisted he is staying in the 2024 race after he finished a distant second to former President Donald Trump in the Iowa caucuses and only narrowly coming out ahead of former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley.

"You helped us get a ticket punched out of the Hawkeye state," DeSantis told a crowd of supporters at a caucus watch party in West Des Moines on Monday night. 

The road after Iowa is unclear for DeSantis. DeSantis has trailed both Trump and Haley by increasing margins in both New Hampshire and South Carolina — states he has invested much less time in this cycle compared to Iowa. But his campaign is aiming to outlast Haley in this race, and get to a one-on-one matchup with Trump.

"This is shaping up to be a two-person race soon enough, it may just take a few more weeks to fully get there," wrote DeSantis communications director Andrew Romeo in a press release Tuesday.

The atmosphere inside the West Des Moines building before DeSantis was projected to be in second place and appeared on stage Monday was a mix of anger and nervousness about a tight battle for second place. Campaign staff, Iowa precinct captains, and allies equated the quick projection by news organizations for Trump with election interference, noting the news broke before people cast their ballots at precincts – and as DeSantis himself was speaking at a caucus location in Dubuque, Iowa.

On Tuesday in South Carolina, DeSantis also voiced frustration with the projection but acknowledged the order of the finishers would not have been different had the projection come later.

The campaign and allies felt they overperformed expectations in Iowa going into Monday, noting the amount of money spent by Haley's super PAC and her placing higher than DeSantis in Iowa polls this month. But the ultimate outcome of Trump clearing 50% and DeSantis only barely beating Haley, despite the investment in the ground game organization from DeSantis' super PAC, had been a concern some fundraisers raised going into Monday night.

"If she's close to DeSantis that makes our job a lot tougher. We have not seen a lot of new money in the past month. The new money has been going to her," one bundler supporting DeSantis said before caucus night.

Other fundraisers were optimistic DeSantis avoided falling behind Haley.

"I don't think it was a good night for [Haley]. That's the donor base that we're kind of competing with, who we're trying to get donor dollars from," said Hal Lambert, a donor who serves on DeSantis' national finance committee.

DeSantis Criticizes Haley's Debate Performance

Republican candidate Ron DeSantis campaigned in both South Carolina and New Hampshire on Tuesday, where he focused his attacks on fellow candidate Nikki Haley.

In Greenville, South Carolina, DeSantis criticized Haley for her poor performance in debates and her refusal to take questions from voters. He accused her of being "hermetically sealed" and avoiding direct interaction with the public.

DeSantis also criticized Haley's decision to skip the WMUR/ABC debate in New Hampshire, which was later canceled due to candidates' unwillingness to participate. Haley had stated that she would only attend the debate if Donald Trump was present.

In response to DeSantis' criticisms, Haley dismissed his efforts in both states, pointing out his low poll numbers. She emphasized that the race is about the differences between her and Trump, and did not even mention DeSantis in a recent campaign memo.

"The field of candidates is effectively down to two, with only Trump and Nikki Haley having substantial support in both New Hampshire and South Carolina," said a campaign manager for Haley.

However, DeSantis expressed his interest in making a play in South Carolina, Haley's home state, New Hampshire, and Nevada. He is on the caucus ballot in Nevada and eligible to receive delegates.

A Republican South Carolina voter who attended DeSantis' event in Greenville, John Barkman, leans towards Trump for his vote in February's primary. He believes that Trump is way ahead in the dynamics of South Carolina, similar to Iowa.