‘Iowa Is Do Or Die’: Karl Rove Claims DeSantis Needs A Victory In Iowa For His Campaign To Survive

Former campaign manager for President George W. Bush, Karl Rove, predicted during an interview on Fox News that “Iowa is do or die” for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

In recent months, DeSantis has lost, not gained, support in the GOP as he continues to trail former President Donald Trump in key state election polls. His campaign has dedicated a significant amount of resources and time to ensuring DeSantis performs well in the Hawkeye State.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) earlier this month officially endorsed DeSantis over Trump. Rove noted that if DeSantis loses despite being endorsed by the governor and key religious leaders in the state then it may be tough for his campaign to recover.

Fox News anchor Paul Gigot asked Rove if DeSantis would drop out if rival and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley outperforms him in the Iowa Caucus.

“Iowa is do or die. He’s putting a lot of effort there. He has the governor of the popular governor, Kim Reynolds. He won the support of a key leader in the evangelical community, Vander Plaats,” Rove responded.

He concluded, “And yeah, he’s got to run. If he comes in third in Iowa, it’s very problematic for him because it doesn’t get better for him in the next two sets of contests.”

According to Real Clear Politics, DeSantis and Haley are currently neck-and-neck in Iowa with the Florida governor holding 17.3% support with Haley close behind with 14.3%. Trump the Republican frontrunner leads the field with 47% support on average.

Watch the full segment above via Fox News.