WEST DES MOINES, Iowa – Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) will remain in the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, with projections he will place second in Iowa‘s kickoff caucuses.
“They threw everything but the kitchen sink at us,” DeSantis told a crowd Monday from his caucus watch party at the Sheraton West Des Moines. “They spent almost $50 million attacking us… The media was against us — they were writing our obituary months ago. They even called the election before people even got a chance to vote.” “Because of your support, in spite of all of that they threw at us, everyone against us, we’ve got our ticket punched out of Iowa,” he said.
“They couldn’t kill him,” a senior campaign official said earlier. He is not only still standing, but he’s now earned his ticket out of Iowa. This is going to be a long battle ahead, but that is what this campaign is built for. The stakes are too high for this nation and we will not back down.”
DeSantis put all his chips on Iowa, with pressure to outperform former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley in the Hawkeye State to create momentum onto New Hampshire and South Carolina, considering his poor polling in the Granite State. While projections put him at second behind former President Donald Trump‘s 51%, his 21% to Haley’s 19% means his path forward is complicated.
Earlier, the DeSantis campaign criticized news outlets for calling Iowa for former President Donald Trump roughly 30 minutes after caucus sites stopped accepting any more people to take part in the nominating contest.
“It is absolutely outrageous that the media would participate in election interference by calling the race before tens of thousands of Iowans even had a chance to vote,” DeSantis campaign communications director Andrew Romeo said. “The media is in the tank for Trump and this is the most egregious eample yet.”
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Meanwhile, Trump addressed his caucus watch party at the Iowa Events Center 15 minutes away in downtown Des Moines.
“I want to congratulate Ron and Nikki for having a good time together,” Trump said, an appeal for party unity.
