Two days before these caucuses, considered the start of the country's primary cycle, and despite having invested almost all of his political capital in Iowa, polls show him in third place, behind former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.
And it's actually a battle between the second and third seats, as former President Donald Trump remains in the first place, leading there with 54 percent support.
The Hill/Decision Desk HQ average in Iowa showed Trump leading with 54.4 percent support, followed by Haley at 17.4 percent and DeSantis at 15.9 percent.
But because caucuses are unpredictable events, the inclement weather expected in the state – with freezing temperatures and record snow – could impact candidates' goals.
“It’s like an NFL season,” DeSantis deputy campaign manager David Polyansky said, quoted by The Hill newspaper.
“You have one game after another. Iowa is the first game. “It deservedly gets all the attention because it's the first on the calendar, but this evening we're all going to leave here and campaign somewhere else,” he continued.
“Monday will be crucial,” warned Jimmy Centers, an Iowa-based Republican strategist who was also quoted by the newspaper.
The DeSantis campaign said the day before that the governor would head straight to South Carolina after the Iowa caucuses, but things would be up there too.
In her home state, Haley has 25.2 percent support, DeSantis has 9.4, and Trump far surpasses her: 53.6 percent.
The polls are even bleaker for DeSantis in New Hampshire, where Trump leads with 42 percent support, Haley trails at 30.9 percent and could benefit from the suspension of the campaign of former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who is polling at 11.4 there percent recorded.
The Florida governor, until recently considered a rising star among Republicans, has lost his luster and is in fourth place in New Hampshire with 6.6 percent.
There are those who believe that he should now reconsider his permanence in the fight for the Republican Party's presidential nomination.
The New Hampshire primary takes place on January 23rd and for some observers the formula for the November 5th election is an announced chronicle: rematch Joe Biden vs. Donald Trump.
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