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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ hard push for the religious vote, including notable efforts to woo evangelicals, appears to have paid off for him as NBC News projects he has secured second place in the Iowa caucuses. DeSantis visited all 99 Iowa counties ahead of the caucuses, and scored some key endorsements including Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and popular evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats.
Donald Trump was declared the winner very quickly on Monday. This led to a high-pressure race for the number two spot. And it certainly seemed like former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley was poised to overtake him, with polls this week suggesting a perfectly timed surge in the lead-up to Iowa. It was not to be.
Of course, there’s still little to no chance that DeSantis will be able to defeat his true opponent, former President Donald Trump, who won the caucuses in a landslide. Perhaps the real question now is whether DeSantis would choose to join the adversary he likely cannot beat.