DeSantis plans to go to South Carolina directly after Iowa in nod to Haley

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is planning on touching down in South Carolina directly after the conclusion of the Iowa caucuses Monday, a nod to the campaign of former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, whom he aims to beat on her home terrain. 

DeSantis plans to head straight down to South Carolina, the state holding the first GOP votes in the South, from Iowa instead of moving onto New Hampshire. The Granite State’s Jan. 23 primary is the first after the Iowa caucuses.

The campaign plans to appear at an event in Greenville according to The Associated Press. 

“This campaign is built for the long-haul,” DeSantis spokesman Andrew Romeo wrote Friday in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “We intend to compete for every single available delegate in New Hampshire, Nevada, South Carolina and then into March. That begins on Monday’s Iowa Caucus, and the next day we will kick our campaign into overdrive in both South Carolina and New Hampshire.”

Both candidates have been trailing former President Trump in Iowa. Based on The Hill/Decision-Desk HQ’s aggregate of 46 polls, Trump has a 37-point lead over second-place Haley, who sits at 17.4 percent. DeSantis is closely trailing at 15.9 percent. 

DeSantis’s move to zero in on Haley’s home state of South Carolina also reflects that she has a far better standing than him in the Granite State; Haley has closed on Trump’s lead, now amassing 31 percent support, according to The Hill/Decision Desk HQ. 

Upon leaving the Palmetto State, DeSantis is scheduled to appear at a CNN town hall. Normally, candidates and their campaigns go to New Hampshire after Iowa, then follow the rest of the scheduled states. South Carolina’s primary is scheduled for Feb. 24, after the Nevada GOP caucus.

“We hope Donald Trump is ready for a long, scrappy campaign as we work to share Ron DeSantis’ vision across America. Game on,” Romeo wrote Friday.

During his appearance on the Fox News’ Ingraham Angle show Friday night, DeSantis took a swipe at both Haley and Trump for not yet committing to the WMUR-TV/ABC News debate scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 18. 

“I’m the only one that’s accepted that debate,” DeSantis said. “I hope the debate happens but if not, I’ll be there if they want to do a town hall, I’m game.” 

Haley has said she wants to go through Iowa first before committing to the debate. 

“Is Trump going to be there on that stage?” she asked WMUR-TV Friday. “I’ve debated DeSantis five times already, but is Trump gonna be on that stage? He is the one I am running against.”

“I don’t know, we will wait and decide after Iowa’s over,” Haley added, when asked if she will attend without the former president.

Trump’s popularity is still firm in South Carolina. The former president has racked up a plethora of endorsements, ranging from the state congressional delegation to Gov. Henry McMaster (R). DeSantis has collected his share of endorsements in the state and is ready for a “long” campaign. 

DeSantis claimed he has “five times” more endorsements from “current and former” state legislators than Haley and quipped that she is “out of step” with South Carolina. 

“I’ve got like five times more endorsements from state legislators current and former than she [Haley] does and that would be unthinkable for the opposite to happen in places like Florida,” DeSantis told Ingraham on Friday.

“And so she’s really out of step I think with South Carolina,” he added. “We’re going to show that with the support we have.”