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Robin Opsahl, Florida Phoenix
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis thanked Iowans at his watch party in West Des Moines Monday for supporting his campaign while criticizing media organizations and other campaigns.
DeSantis said no other candidates have faced as much as him in making it through the first-in-the-nation contest.
“The media was against us. … They even called the election before people even got a chance to vote, but they were just so excited about the fact that they were predicting that we wouldn’t be able to get our ticket punched here out of Iowa,” DeSantis said. “But I can tell you, because of your support, and in spite of all of that they threw at us, everyone against us, we’ve got our ticket punched out of Iowa.”
The Florida Republican was critical of news outlets that chose to call the race in Iowa at 7:30 p.m. for Trump — a half hour after Iowa precinct caucuses began, and before many locations had officially cast their ballots.
Though some predicted that DeSantis would drop out if he did not win the Iowa caucuses, the governor said he would continue his campaign — heading next to South Carolina, Haley’s home state.
Supporter Brian Allen, a 32-year-old Des Moines resident, said his hope was for DeSantis to come out on top in the caucuses, but that a second place win would be “positive” heading into the nominating cycle.
“There’s still lots of ways forward,” Allen said. “I think, if you can get through South Carolina, and maybe pull an upset in South Carolina, I think maybe that’s path forward. I think by Super Tuesday, we’ll have it figured out.”
DeSantis said that during his time in Iowa, he learned that Americans have “basic decency” not reflected in social media and news stories.
“People want to have hope for this country’s future, and that’s what we represent,” DeSantis said. “We represent a chance to reverse the madness that we’ve seen in this country, to reverse the decline of this country and to give this country a new birth of freedom and a restoration of sanity. That’s what we are going to do.”
This story was published earlier by the Iowa Capital Dispatch, an affiliate of the nonprofit States Newsroom network, which includes the Florida Phoenix.
Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Diane Rado for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com. Follow Florida Phoenix on Facebook and Twitter.
