Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) narrowly defeated former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley to finish in second place during the Iowa caucuses Monday night.
“We got our ticket punched out of Iowa,” DeSantis said at his caucus party to supporters.
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The Florida governor heavily campaigned on winning the evangelical vote in an attempt to either win the nominating contest outright or come in a close second.
But former President Donald Trump dominated the caucuses and 31 minutes after they began the Associated Press declared him the winner.
With 95% of the vote counted, Trump had 51% support, DeSantis 21%, Haley 19%, and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy at 8%. Ramaswamy dropped out of the race after the fourth-place finish and backed Trump.
The DeSantis campaign had already indicated Monday night the governor would stay in the race. “They threw everything at Ron DeSantis. They couldn’t kill him,” said a senior campaign official. “He is not only still standing, but he’s now earned his ticket out of Iowa.”
DeSantis and Haley had long battled over who would survive in the primary as the chief Trump competitor in the primary. For much of Monday night, the two candidates were neck-and-neck as Iowa counties reported results.
Yet Trump’s resounding victory on Monday though proves he will not be an easy candidate to dethrone on the march to the GOP presidential nomination.
DeSantis’s campaign rebuked the early race call in a statement Monday night. “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,” said Andrew Romeo, a DeSantis spokesman. “The media is in the tank for Trump and this is the most egregious example yet.”
Unlike his rivals, Trump largely eschewed local gatherings in Iowa opting instead for strategic rallies in Iowa to bolster his support. DeSantis campaigned in all 99 counties in Iowa and touted the highly-coveted endorsements of Gov. Kim Reynolds (R-IA) and evangelical kingmaker Bob Vander Plaats.
Haley campaigned in the Hawkeye State to a lesser extent than DeSantis as she looks forward to the New Hampshire primary on Jan. 23, where she has a much higher chance of taking on Trump due to the state’s high share of independent voters.
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Trump won 98 of 99 counties in Iowa. He far outperformed his 2016 Iowa caucuses results, where he placed second at 24% behind Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) at 28%.
Focus will also shift to whether DeSantis can continue his White House bid, and if Haley is a real threat to Trump in New Hampshire. In New Hampshire, Trump dominates his rivals at 43.5% according to a RealClearPolitics average of polls while Haley lags behind at 29.3%. DeSantis, meanwhile, is polling in the single digits at 6.5%.
