Where Does Ron DeSantis Go From Iowa? The Answer Might Surprise People

Is Ron DeSantis done for the 2024 presidential election? Well, not yet.

At the moment the Republican Florida Governor is planning the next phase in his primary campaign, in which he plans to take the fight not to front-runner Donald Trump but to his rival, former governor Nikki Haley's own state, South Carolina.

Ron DeSantis is taking his battle with Nikki Haley directly to her home state, planning to head straight to South Carolina — which holds the first GOP votes in the South — after Monday’s Iowa caucuses.
His campaign said Friday that the Florida governor will leave Iowa after a caucus night party on Monday and fly to South Carolina, where he will appear at a campaign event in Greenville, in the state’s largely conservative northwestern corner. That’s instead of immediately going to New Hampshire, which is the next state on the GOP calendar with its Jan. 23 primary.
DeSantis’ campaign says the move is intended to send a message to Haley that he’s intent on performing well in her home state. Advisors also point out that DeSantis has several times more endorsements from current and former elected officials in Haley’s home state than she does.

Forgoing New Hampshire, the first state holding an actual GOP primary (Iowa is on the caucus system), seems an interesting move, especially when some recent surveys show DeSantis lagging badly in the Granite State. But it's rarely a bad strategy, in either a political campaign or any other kind of conflict, to take the fight to the opponent's home turf. That would appear to be the DeSantis strategy here. And while Haley enjoys strong support in New Hampshire, that support is far from universal in other locations.

Following the most recent polling that shows the number-two spot in the GOP presidential race tightening up, the DeSantis campaign is seen by some as struggling to gain momentum.

Despite investing nearly everything in Iowa, polls show DeSantis has his work cut out for him. A Suffolk University Political Research Center poll released Thursday showed former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley topping DeSantis in Iowa by 7 points. Former President Trump continues to lead the field with 54 percent support.
However, caucuses are already unpredictable events, and coupled with the inclement weather expected in the state, DeSantis’s team says they are moving forward.

DeSantis has played every card in Iowa. He has visited all 99 counties personally, even my childhood home of Allamakee County in the far-northeastern corner of the state, about which my father was fond of saying, "Nothing ever happens in Allamakee County, and nothing ever changes in Allamakee County."

That wasn't the case this year. Even after all of DeSantis' efforts, though, the latest indicators have him essentially tied with Haley. Were I advising Gov. DeSantis at this point, I would be telling him, "Hang in, at least, until Super Tuesday. Until then, hit all of the Super Tuesday states. Take the fight to the enemy. Hit states Biden won in 2020. Hit the cities. Hit anywhere where you might pick up one vote, or ten, or a million." In Iowa, DeSantis showed he has the energy to do that. Now, he has to scale it up.

None of this changes the fact that the elephant in the room remains, as it has been, Donald Trump.

Since 2020, the nomination has been Trump's to lose. Despite all of his legal problems, despite the sometimes-irrational messaging, despite the undying enmity of the legacy media, Trump has hung in there and remains the front-runner in the polls.

Not one primary vote has yet been cast or counted. On Monday, though, it begins, and it's going to be fun to watch.

Stay tuned for Super Tuesday. As is the case with most presidential election years, this is where the rubber meets the road. And until then, it's too soon to make many solid predictions. But whatever happens in 2024, no matter who takes a seat at the Resolute Desk in January of 2025, it's a safe guess that the nation has not seen the last of Ron DeSantis.