DeSantis edges Haley for second in Iowa GOP caucus

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) finished second in the Iowa GOP caucus Monday, edging out former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, according to a projection from Decision Desk HQ.  

The Florida governor invested heavily in the Hawkeye State. His performance in Iowa was seen as make-or-break, and recent polling had shown Haley edging past him.  

Both candidates were eclipsed, however, by former President Trump, who as of this publication had just over 50 percent of the vote.

The DeSantis campaign heavily criticized media outlets for calling the race for Trump in Iowa shortly after caucusing began, and some journalists also questioned the move by The Associated Press, NBC News and others to call Iowa early for Trump.

“It is absolutely outrageous that the media would participate in election interference by calling the race before tens of thousands of Iowans even had a chance to vote. The media is in the tank for Trump and this is the most egregious example yet,” DeSantis campaign communications director Andrew Romeo said in a statement. 

Prior to the results, an average of Iowa surveys by Decision Desk HQ and The Hill found Trump at 53 percent, Haley at 18 percent and DeSantis at 15 percent. Both an Emerson College Polling survey and a poll from NBC News/Des Moines Register/Medicom showed Trump in first place, while Haley was in second place.  

Meanwhile, an Insider Advantage poll showed Haley and DeSantis tied for second. 

Some experts had warned that if DeSantis placed third in Iowa, he might effectively have to drop out of the race.

“The question is, really, does DeSantis drop out? I think that’s the only big question that’s gonna be answered,” Andrew Smith, director of the University of New Hampshire Survey Center and a professor of practice in political science at the university, told The Hill ahead of the Iowa caucuses. 

“I don’t think he’s gonna win, but if he finishes a distant third, he’s gonna drop out. I mean, he has nowhere to go after that,” Smith added. 

Despite avoiding that outcome Monday, DeSantis’s campaign still faces questions around viability heading into New Hampshire and South Carolina. An average of New Hampshire polls from Decision Desk HQ and The Hill showed DeSantis in third with less than 7 percent support, while Decision Desk HQ’s and The Hill’s average of South Carolina polls shows DeSantis in third at over 9 percent, trailing Haley in second at 25 percent.

Updated Jan. 16 at 6:13 a.m. ET