Following last week’s Republican primary debate, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ campaign has opted to continue its attacks on other GOP candidates in the field — instead focusing on overhauling former President Donald Trump in the Jan. 15 Iowa caucuses. .
While national and state polls show DeSantis, 45, well behind the 77-year-old Trump — and has also boosted support for rivals Vivek Ramaswamy and Nikki Haley — the Florida gubernatorial campaign says its focus is building a ground game and organization to defeat Trump in the Hawkeye State.
Currently, the RealClearPolitics polling average shows Trump at 49.2% in Iowa, followed by DeSantis (16.0%), Haley (8.8%), Ramaswamy (7.0%) and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott (6.8%).
In response, DeSantis’ team stated that voters still have three and a half months to change their minds.
A recent CBS News/YouGov poll found that 31% of likely Republican primary voters are not considering supporting Trump at all, while only 20% say their only choice is Trump.
A DeSantis victory in Iowa, the campaign said, would end any lingering doubts among Republican voters that the primary is a two-person race — and would make clear which man has a clearer path to victory.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign is shifting its focus to former President Donald Trump ahead of the Iowa Caucuses. Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images
“America is increasingly recognizing Ron DeSantis as a solid, efficient and proven leader who is working to reverse our country’s decline and deliver results,” DeSantis campaign representative Carly Atchison told The Post. “This is a two-man race, and even the Trump campaign knows that, which is why they attack him every day.
“The reality is that Ron DeSantis is the only candidate who can beat Donald Trump in Iowa and beyond.”
The DeSantis campaign also claimed Trump’s team recognized the Florida governor’s Iowa plans weeks ago, and responded by ramping up their operations after a slow start.
Polls show DeSantis in second place behind Trump in the GOP primary. Photo by David McNew/Getty Images
The Trump camp disputed that, with early state director Alex Latcham telling The Post that the former president’s visit was “in the works for a long time” before DeSantis ramped up his activities.
“Iowans know who President Trump is,” Latcham added. “This is not a fair comparison.”
“Comparing campaign to campaign? There is no comparison,” added Trump spokesman Steven Cheung. “We have more events in Iowa than the DeSantis campaign has in Iowa.”
DeSantis has traveled extensively throughout Iowa with his wife Casey, holding 75 events and visiting 58 counties. He also earned 40 endorsements from state legislators and endorsements from 120 district seats – one in each of Iowa’s 99 counties.
The pro-DeSantis Never Back Down super PAC is also heavily focused on Iowa.
The organization is gearing up to do more door-knocking of potential caucus-goers, asking voters to register by Jan. 15 and spreading the message that DeSantis has the best plans for the state, a super PAC official told The Post on condition of anonymity. .
“This whole race is going to start looking through that Iowa lens. It’s just how it’s going to happen naturally, but especially here, because Iowa is a place where the former president saw a crack in the armor for him,” the official said.
For the Trump camp, thinking Iowa will launch a candidate to victory is an old strategy doomed to failure.
According to campaign representatives, DeSantis is the only candidate who can defeat Trump in “Iowa and beyond.” AFP via Getty Images
“This is just repurposing an old strategy in 2016 and we’re seeing how well that results for President Ted Cruz,” Latcham told The Post.
“The president is a famous commodity. He has an incredible record that resonates with Iowans. We will continue to tell that story and contrast our record with Joe Biden and what we hope to accomplish in a second term.”
The next big event on the Republican primary calendar is the third debate, set for November 8 in Miami. Like the first two debates, Trump plans to skip the rally, which the DeSantis campaign believes will come at a political price.
The former president insisted he had no reason to debate his competition, given that he was leading in the polls.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
