TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) — Gov. Ron DeSantis will be in Iowa this weekend, aiming to gain momentum in the Hawkeye state ahead of the vital caucuses.
DeSantis is among the large group of 2024 Republicans headed to Des Moines for the Iowa Family Leadership Summit.
This latest trip to Iowa will mark DeSantis’ third since announcing his bid for the White House. He vows that he’s the nominee to put Republicans back in the White House.
“I’m gonna run Biden ragged around this country and we’re going to beat him like a drum,” DeSantis said during a meet-and-greet with voters in Fort Dodge, Iowa.
A leaked campaign memo revealed some of DeSantis’ strategies. Among them, a hyper-focus on the early nominating states and town hall events, calling them, “the best way for early state voters to get to know the governor.”
“They know of Ron DeSantis. They know of his record, but they don’t feel like they know him personally,” Never Back Down Founder Ken Cuccinelli said.
Political experts say personality might be one of the governor’s biggest issues – and that struggle is showing in the majority of polls, where DeSantis is behind by double digits.
“I think what we’re really starting to see with Gov. DeSantis in Iowa is not just whether he can move the polls, but does he have the endurance? Does he have the endurance to really live through some of these rocky roads?” St. Petersburg College political science professor Tara Newsom said.