DeSantis leans on conservative surrogates in Iowa campaign homestretch

EXCLUSIVE — Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R-FL) campaign is highlighting a full-court press by his team of conservative surrogates in a new video as the days count down until the pivotal Republican caucuses in Iowa.

Over the past week, DeSantis supporters, including Reps. Chip Roy (R-TX) and Thomas Massie (R-KY), Govs. Kevin Stitt (R-OK) and Kim Reynolds (R-IA), and Iowa-based radio host Steve Deace blitzed the Hawkeye State to make the case for DeSantis’s 2024 bid.

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According to the campaign, Roy participated in nine meet-and-greets and did 10 interviews, Reynolds joined the Florida governor at two meet-and-greets and did two interviews herself, Stitt attended four meet-and-greets, also doing four interviews, Massie joined DeSantis at three meet-and-greets, and Deace delivered a pro-DeSantis speech during a town hall event.

In a video recapping the swing through Iowa, Stitt tells voters, “Whether it’s border, whether it’s election integrity, whether it’s getting DEI out of our classrooms [and] higher education, you’ve got to have somebody that can get the job done.”

“That’s what we’re seeing in Gov. DeSantis,” he said.

“Florida is now arguably the reddest state in the United States of America,” Deace emphasized. “And he did that in one term.”

Roy urged Iowa voters to “elect this man so that we can have our kids look up to our president and want to follow a leader forward.”

Reynolds further drove home to attendees, “The guy that can turn this country around and really reverse the madness that we’ve seen from the Biden administration is Ron DeSantis.”

“He’s followed through with 100% of the promises that he made,” the Iowa governor said.

The heavy presence of DeSantis supporters on the campaign trail underscores the importance of Iowa to DeSantis and his 2024 rivals. DeSantis in particular has bet his candidacy on a strong outcome in the Hawkeye State.

His campaign opened two headquarters there and moved a portion of its staff across the country to get to work in the state. DeSantis saw his numbers rise in Iowa after the move and the coveted Reynolds endorsement, going from 16% in October to 19% in December.

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However, former President Donald Trump also saw his stature in the polls improve, moving from 43% to 51% in December.

Experts on the Iowa contest have warned to take polling with a grain of salt, explaining that the caucuses have the potential to yield surprising results. According to the latest poll, just under half of likely Republican caucusgoers, 46%, said they can still be convinced to support another candidate.