Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is changing his objective in the Iowa caucuses and is no longer gunning for a first-place finish, according to an insider who spoke to POLITICO over the weekend.
The outlet reported that the campaign insider said the popular GOP governor would settle for second place behind a surging former President Donald Trump.
“We believe it’s already a two-person race,” the insider said, adding that the campaign is looking for a “strong second-place finish” in Iowa, which holds the first-in-the-nation primary nominating contest.
“But the reality is, on the ballot there are other choices, and our goal is to get this down to a two-person race on the ballot, especially as we head into South Carolina and beyond into March,” the person told the outlet.
“A strong second-place showing gives us an opportunity to go in[to] New Hampshire and show success,” the source noted further.
DeSantis and his campaign began to focus heavily on Iowa shortly after he announced his candidacy for the 2024 nomination in May. In an audio clip obtained by POLITICO earlier this month, Jeff Roe of the pro-DeSantis Never Back Down PAC said Iowa was a priority.
“Iowa is a real state for us because of its education — it’s a highly educated state — because of income, because of Bible reading,” he said, adding that New Hampshire, which is the second state to hold primaries, will be tough for Trump.
“New Hampshire is a terrible state for Donald Trump,” he said. “That’s a terrible state for him. He’s gonna get like 28 percent” of the primary vote.
“Now there is more people who will have a slice of that and some people are just betting on New Hampshire overall. But he’s going to lose the first two states. We’re going to beat him in Iowa,” he added.
Both Trump and DeSantis went to the rivalry Iowa-Iowa State college football game on Saturday.
While Trump sits behind glass box seats at the Iowa-Iowa State football game, Ron DeSantis and Kim Reynolds watch the game with @CarsonKing2 and fans pic.twitter.com/hKEVdQiAO4
— Ryan Saavedra (@RyanSaavedra) September 9, 2023
Trump gave supporters and fans some love before the game, slinging footballs and crashing a tailgate party.
The leading 2024 GOP frontrunner went to the Alpha Gamma Rho house, cooked some burgers, and served up food and refreshments ahead of the game, which didn’t begin until mid-afternoon. He also signed several footballs.
President Donald J. Trump signed footballs and threw them into the crowd of students for the Iowa v. Iowa State Football Game pic.twitter.com/6830koJOAX
— RSBN 🇺🇸 (@RSBNetwork) September 9, 2023
“This is some turnout,” Trump told a reporter. “I guess the youth likes Trump.”
The former president also drew some cheers when he visited a tailgater and got in on some burger-flipping.
One serious question from me: How will anyone beat Trump in the next election with these massive crowds and great energy? Here he is flipping burgers at Iowa State Universitypic.twitter.com/NOkghhs0kc
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) September 9, 2023
Trump also generated cheers when he actually entered Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa, for the annual grudge match.
President Trump got a huge reception at the Iowa St vs Iowa football game pic.twitter.com/X89pfWhGS8
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) September 9, 2023
“It’s cool that he came to this game,” an Iowa Hawkeye fan quoted by the Des Moines Register said.
“I’m a financial guy, and when he was president, there was a lot of positives and a lot of good things going on,” noted Brad Lewis, a resident of Dubuque. “And so, to me, that’s important. People love him or hate him, but you know, he’s done a lot of good things for the country.”
Trump’s next-closest rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, was also at the game.
“We’re having a good time,” he told reporters, according to the Associated Press. “It’s quite an atmosphere, probably a little bit more civilized than the Florida-Georgia game.”
Iowa knocked off Iowa State 20-13.
Trump faces several indictments, which millions of his supporters see as entirely political in nature. But despite his legal woes, he’s not suffering in the polls and, in fact, leads President Joe Biden in several recent surveys.
“The country’s frustration with inflation and wariness toward the idea of Vice President Kamala Harris being an 80-year-old’s heartbeat from the presidency are two of the many drags on President Biden’s reelection chances,” Democratic pollsters Douglas Schoen and Carly Cooperman wrote in a Monday column published online by The Hill.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
