DeSantis Claims He’s ‘Going to Win Iowa’ Because He’s ‘Way Ahead’ of Past Winners Like Cruz, Santorum, and Huckabee
AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File
In leaked audio from an online meeting with members of the Virgin Islands GOP committee, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) claimed that he was “going to win Iowa” because he was “way ahead of any other candidate who’s won the caucuses in the past” – referring to past Republican candidates who not only did not go on to become president, they didn’t have to contend with competing against former President Donald Trump.
DeSantis’ campaign to win the 2024 GOP presidential nomination has struggled to find an answer to The Trump Question, as the ex-president’s hold on the Republican voter base has been unrelenting, and the Florida governor’s efforts to try and outflank Trump from the right have failed to endear him to MAGA voters while alienating moderate voters and cautious donors.
With money running short on the official campaign side – Politico reported this week his third-quarter campaign finance reports showed he spent as much as he took in, but still had $1 million in unpaid invoices – his Super PAC has taken a much more prominent role in on-the-ground operations than is usually seen in federal campaigns (and may possibly run afoul of FEC rules). Notably, the candidate’s use of private jet travel continued amid the well-publicized money woes.
The last few weeks of GOP primary polling, both nationally and in key early primary states, as tracked by Real Clear Politics has shown Trump waltzing along with a 40- or even 50-point lead.
DeSantis, meanwhile, has steadfastly insisted that none of the polls matter and his strategy will pay off when Iowans actually show up to their caucuses to vote.
As reported by David Catanese for The Miami Herald, in a virtual chat with the Virgin Islands GOP committee, DeSantis insisted he had a shot at the Republican voters who were still considering non-Trump options, and flat-out declared he would win in Iowa.
“We’re going to win Iowa,” he said. “We’re way ahead of any other candidate who’s won the caucuses in the past.”
DeSantis’ comparison to past Republican contenders isn’t just apples and oranges, it’s apples and Tyrannosaurus Rexes. Those GOP candidates were running in open fields, not against an incumbent president with universal name recognition and an uncanny ability to gobble up all the oxygen in any given media cycle.
As Catanese noted:
DeSantis is correct that other candidates like Mike Huckabee in 2008 and Ted Cruz in 2016 made up considerable deficits to ultimately pull off a surprise victory there. But neither of them was running against a former president on his third campaign for the White House, and neither Huckabee nor Cruz went on to secure the GOP nomination. An Iowa State University poll conducted by Civiqs earlier this month showed Trump with a staggering 38-point lead over DeSantis, with the former president receiving 55% support, compared to DeSantis’ 17%. Haley was in third with 11%.
New Hampshire looks like an even tougher challenge for DeSantis, with some recent polling showing him falling behind Haley in the Granite State. Haley has seen a bump in her polling fortunes following two well-received debate performances, where she tangled with her rivals in sharp-tongued back-and-forths. In the September debate, Haley attacked DeSantis for being against fracking and drilling. But while he made a promise to ban fracking as a candidate, it’s Florida voters who approved an amendment to ban offshore drilling through a constitutional ballot initiative.
Former Sen. Rick Santorum also won the Iowa Caucuses, in 2012.
