Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) proudly proclaimed success Monday even though he finished 30 points behind Donald Trump in the Iowa Caucuses Monday — still, he's in it to win it.
The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that DeSantis doesn't have much of a campaign in New Hampshire after having gone all-in on Iowa. Former Gov. Nikki Haley, who finished third Monday, is getting more credit for finishing so closely behind DeSantis without spending more than $150 million on her campaign.
And she is performing well in New Hampshire, NPR reported, where Donald Trump has less of a chance of a blowout. Polls taken before Chris Christie dropped out showed him in third place and DeSantis behind even Vivek Ramaswamy, who dropped out Monday night.
It's likely the reason DeSantis "is facing pressure from some allies to get out of the race, according to people familiar with the conversations."
The DeSantis team has rejected the idea.
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“We’ve got our ticket punched out of Iowa,” he cheered at his Iowa rally Monday night.
"DeSantis has faced questions about how long he would continue his campaign, given how intently he focused on Iowa," the Journal reported. "Still, he spun his distant-second place finish Monday as a victory and insisted he would continue, with events scheduled Tuesday in South Carolina and New Hampshire."
He's also facing money woes after blowing everything on a campaign that looked more like a general election than a primary race.
“While it may take a few more weeks to fully get there, this will be a two-person race soon enough,” DeSantis spokesperson Andrew Romeo told the Journal when asked about money.
“DeSantis has enough cash on hand to get through South Carolina and is committed to win the nomination,” said Florida lobbyist Nick Iarossi, who is helping on the campaign. “The finance team is committed to support him and raise the dollars necessary to win.”
The battle, however, is that the anti-Trump vote is being split by Haley and DeSantis, benefitting Trump.
A continuation of the Haley-DeSantis battle, however, might only benefit Trump. And Trump stands to gain from the exit Monday of Vivek Ramaswamy, who continuously praised Trump on the campaign trail and endorsed him on the way out.
