DeSantis estimates he’ll visit all 99 Iowa counties by end of October

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said Thursday that he expects to visit all 99 counties in Iowa by the end of October as his campaign hones in on the early caucus state.

“We said we’re going to do all 99 counties in Iowa. That’s something that’s important, we’re going to do it. … They’ve campaigned with us, but they’ve never really done this whole bus deal,” DeSantis said during a live broadcast of the conservative “Ruthless Podcast” in Des Moines, speaking about his children joining him on the campaign trail. 

“So we started taking them on the bus. We hit all these places. So we’ve now done 32 of the 99. Tomorrow we’re going to do another six counties, and we are probably going to have all 99 by the end of October,” he continued.

The Florida governor is in Iowa this week and is scheduled to appear at the Iowa State Fair on Saturday — the same day as former President Trump.

DeSantis’s comments come as the Florida governor is looking to do what’s dubbed in Iowa as the “full Grassley” by visiting all 99 counties in Iowa. His campaign’s strategy to lean into more local, county-driven events underscores how DeSantis is lasering in on the early caucus state.

Recent polling suggests that his efforts in the state might be working. While a Fox Business poll in Iowa released last month showed Trump leading DeSantis by 30 points, a recent New York Times/Siena College poll shows Trump ahead by 24 points. 

Still, Republicans in Iowa say not to read too much into the polling, as the surveys are coming at a time that’s several weeks before the first GOP debate and five months before the Iowa caucuses.