DES MOINES, Iowa – With six days left before the Iowa caucuses begin the Republican presidential nominating calendar, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is no longer predicting victory and instead promises that “we will do well here.”
DeSantis, at a Fox News town hall Tuesday in Iowa's capital and largest city, emphasized that the battle for the GOP nomination “is a long process” and vowed that he “will be in it for the long haul.”
DeSantis, who was convincingly re-elected to a second term as Florida governor 14 months ago, was once the clear alternative to former President Trump in the Republican race for the White House. He came in solidly second behind Trump, who remains his favorite in his third consecutive presidential bid.
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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R), Republican presidential candidate, joins hosts Martha MacCallum and Bret Baier for a Fox News town hall in Des Moines, Iowa, on January 9, 2024. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
But after a series of campaign setbacks over the summer and fall, DeSantis saw his support erode in the polls.
His rival Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor who served as ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration, has in recent weeks caught up with DeSantis for second place in Iowa polls and national polls.
Haley also surpassed DeSantis to move into second place and narrowed the gap with Trump in New Hampshire, which is holding the first primary, just eight days after Iowa.
Last month, in multiple interviews, despite trailing Trump in the polls in Iowa, DeSantis predicted victory.
“We are going to win Iowa. We have the organization in place,” the governor declared in an interview with Fox News Digital in Bettendorf, Iowa, a week before Christmas.
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But on Tuesday, when asked by Fox News' “Special Report” lead political host Bret Baier and “The Story” executive editor and host Martha MacCallum, the town hall moderators, about his end in a state that many consider decisive – pause for him, DeSantis responded twice “we are going to do well.”
“To be honest, I like to have lower expectations,” he added. “I've been an underdog my whole life and everything I've done.”
And he argued that “the media has tried to attack me a little for that… Let them say that. We have it in our power to prove them wrong, and we will do it.”
When asked if his campaign would advance to New Hampshire regardless of its finish in Iowa, DeSantis reiterated “yes, of course.”
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And DeSantis touted his get-out-the-vote efforts in Iowa, which rely heavily on Never Back Down, an aligned super PAC.
“We have a great number of people. I think we have more commitments than anyone in an Iowa caucus. We have every county organized. People who have been involved in this process say it's the best one yet,” he said.
Haley joined Fox News on Monday for a similar town hall, and Trump will take questions from Baier and MacCallum on Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET.
Get the latest updates from the 2024 election campaign, exclusive interviews and more in our Fox News Digital Election Center.
