Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis said the Iowa caucuses on Monday could “upend” former President Trump’s lead in the polls for the GOP nomination.
DeSantis argued at a Fox News town hall in Iowa on Tuesday that polls can be misleading and change significantly as a race goes on. He was responding to a question from a voter who asked why he thinks the GOP candidates other than Trump have struggled to gain traction in the race.
“I honestly think Iowans have it within their power to upend all of that,” DeSantis said.
He pointed to polls a year ahead of the 1980 presidential election that showed then-President Carter leading Ronald Reagan significantly, only for Reagan to be elected president in a landslide. DeSantis also noted that polls for his own reelection campaign for governor of Florida in 2022 underestimated what would be a 20-point victory for him.
“Ultimately, it’s the people that decide these, not the polls. I can tell you this: If Iowans come out and vote for me and caucus for me in large numbers, we’re building the operation to do that, those national polls will change,” he said.
The town hall came as the Iowa caucuses, the first vote of the Republican nominating process, are less than a week away.
Polls nationwide and in Iowa show Trump with a significant lead. He leads Nikki Haley and DeSantis in the national polling average from The Hill/Decision Desk HQ by more than 50 points, and he leads in Iowa by about 35 points.
Trump has also recently ticked above 50 percent support in Iowa in the last few weeks, after previously polling at less than 50 percent through much of the campaign.
DeSantis argued that Iowa conservatives should vote for him as he best represents their values and has delivered on the promises he has made.
He said the nominating process will be long and he will be “in it for the long haul.” He noted that he has visited all 99 counties in Iowa and answered questions from everyone.
Co-moderator Martha MacCallum asked him if he would stay in the race past Iowa regardless of the result on Monday, and DeSantis responded, “Of course.”