Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is relocating a majority of his campaign staff to South Carolina. He will be leaving Wednesday night after two events in New Hampshire to return to his home state, according to a senior campaign official from DeSantis' team.
On Friday, he will attend a ceremony for Florida Supreme Court Justice Meredith Sasso, whom DeSantis appointed in May. Following that, he has scheduled campaign events in South Carolina on Saturday and Sunday.
His schedule for next Monday and Tuesday, the day of the New Hampshire primary, is still uncertain.
The decision to prioritize South Carolina and essentially forego a heavy week of campaigning in the Granite State before the primary comes after two planned debates in New Hampshire (CNN and ABC/WMUR) that DeSantis had accepted were canceled.
The objective of DeSantis' campaign is to exert pressure on former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley to win her home state. The implication is that she would drop out of the race if she fails to do so, as DeSantis' campaign has a long-term goal of narrowing the GOP contest to a "two-person" race between DeSantis and Trump.
DeSantis Campaign Official: Nikki Haley's Donors Losing Confidence
"When Nikki Haley fails to win her home state, she'll be finished and this will be a two-person race – and her donors are starting to come to the same conclusion," a senior DeSantis campaign official said, referencing about pressure from Haley's donors.
"While they continue to have buyers' remorse over backing a bubble wrapped candidate who can't beat Trump, we're wasting no time in taking the fight directly to Haley on her home turf," they added.
DeSantis has not spent much time in the first-in-the-nation state of New Hampshire compared to Iowa, where DeSantis invested their time and energy but ultimately placed a distant second to Trump in Monday night's caucuses. After the Iowa caucuses, DeSantis held an event in Greenville, South Carolina and was slated to attend an event in Claremont, New Hampshire hosted by his super PAC "Never Back Down," though that was canceled due to heavy snow and unsafe weather conditions.
Another event scheduled for Wednesday morning in Jackson, New Hampshire, also hosted by his super PAC, was canceled due to weather conditions.
The Florida governor has also been unable to register any growth in the polling in New Hampshire in recent months. A December CBS News poll of New Hampshire found DeSantis at 11% in the state, trailing Haley and Trump.
