Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis shrugged off the results of the last election in Iowa before caucus day, saying Sunday that his supporters were engaged and would turn out in subzero temperatures.
And he dismissed questions about whether his campaign was heading for disaster after he was expected to finish in third place on Monday.
This was despite the fact that he had relied on enormous resources in the state where he visited each of his 99 counties.
“We’re going to do well on Monday,” he said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“Our voters are very motivated. “I think it’s very difficult to poll a caucus in Iowa.”
Ron DeSantis was on CNN Sunday morning to defend his campaign after the latest poll before the Iowa caucuses showed him falling to third place in the crucial state
The NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll was conducted Jan. 7-12 with 705 likely Republican caucus participants. The margin of error is plus-minus 3.7 percentage points
Republicans will gather in school gymnasiums, living rooms and church halls on Monday night to choose their favorite candidate.
It's the first real test of who will do best with voters after a year of campaigning.
The outcome can make or break presidential campaigns.
The highly anticipated NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa poll released Saturday gave Donald Trump a 28-point lead.
And it showed former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley overtaking DeSantis.
That will be a major blow to Florida's governor if it is reflected in Monday's caucus results.
But there are signs that his tremendous ground game could still play a role.
The poll found his supporters were most likely to attend the day and rally.
Of DeSantis supporters, 62 percent said they would definitely come. For Trump supporters the figure drops to 56 percent, for Haley it is only 51 percent.
“And these are people … who are very motivated.” “We spent a lot of time in Iowa going door-to-door and getting people involved in a caucus with us,” he said, swiping Putting aside the thought that a bad result could mean the end of his campaign.
DeSantis has a great ground game. It will be put to the test on Monday. Eli Weltman of Never Back Down, an independent group supporting DeSantis, speaks to a voter in Marion on Wednesday
“We have a large number of people who have voted to join the caucus and we expect these are the people who will attend.” So there is a lot of excitement locally.
“We’re in it for the long haul.”
But it shouldn't be like that. DeSantis' conservative and Christian credentials should give him a boost in Iowa and give him a chance to take on Trump before the race goes to New Hampshire and its more moderate Republicans.
Haley is challenging Trump for victory there, while DeSantis is well behind. A bad loss there after a poor result in Iowa would make it very difficult for him to move on.
DeSantis said he would fight any state.
“In my opinion, if you want to win you would have to fight for every single delegate,” he said.
The Iowa caucus format requires voters to appear in person. Bitter weather is complicating the entire process, and forecasters are predicting the coldest Iowa caucus night on record – with temperatures as low as minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit.
The latest Iowa poll gave Donald Trump a 28-point lead over second-place Haley. That puts him on track for a record win if he can even come close to that win on Monday
Trump campaign insiders admit their biggest problem may be complacency as supporters stay home because of the former president's seemingly insurmountable lead.
And Saturday's poll also suggests Haley's support could be weak since she draws much of her support from Democrats and independents who have to jump through the bureaucratic hurdle of registering as a Republican to vote in a caucus.
That gives DeSantis hope that his big investment can still produce an outcome that allows him to keep fighting.
“We're telling our supporters: Get out there, bring some friends and family.” “It's going to be a huge blow,” he said.
Commentators said the poll suggested DeSantis was in big trouble.
“This is a tough poll for Gov. DeSantis, who has bet on Iowa,” said Jimmy Centers, a Republican strategist who is nonpartisan in the race.
“The good news is that many Iowans are leaving the door open to changing their minds or have not decided on a candidate yet.”
“But voters generally like to side with a winner or an up-and-coming candidate – he doesn’t appear to be either.”