DeSantis confirms Greenville pitstop after Iowa to show 'five times' support in Haley's backyard
Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis confirmed Friday he plans to go straight from the Iowa caucuses to the third contest state of South Carolina, but underlined he is not ignoring New Hampshire.
DeSantis said he is stumping in Greenville, the largest city in the Palmetto's upstate, to take the election fight right to his chief non-Trump rival, former U.N. Amb. Nikki Haley.
Haley, whose campaign received a shot in the arm as of late from the Koch-connected Americans for Prosperity Action, as well as several top-tier GOP donors, has been statistically battling DeSantis for second place behind former President Trump.
After Monday's caucuses, DeSantis will stop in Greenville on Tuesday before pivoting north to New Hampshire for a WMUR debate, which he told "The Ingraham Angle" he is thus far the only invitee who accepted.
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DeSantis, Haley (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
"[S]ome media was saying we weren't doing New Hampshire. It's not true," DeSantis said.
"I think the message is simple that you look at South Carolina, Nikki Haley was governor there, and I've got, like, five times more endorsements from state legislators — current and former — than she does," he said of the former governor, who hails from Bamberg, about two hours southeast of Greenville.
DeSantis quipped it would be "unthinkable" for the opposite — Haley receiving exponentially more Floridian endorsements than himself, adding that the Greenville rally will be an opportunity to showcase his support.
After another South Carolinian, Sen. Tim Scott, bowed out of the presidential sweeps, DeSantis picked up a slew of Scott's endorsers at the time, including state Reps. Bill Taylor and Tom Hartnett Jr.
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As of November, when Scott left the race, the Associated Press reported DeSantis had 68 endorsements from South Carolinian officials and figures.
However, according to Charleston's NBC affiliate at the time, Haley too picked up several of Scott's surrogates. Haley also has the support of House Freedom Caucus member Ralph Norman, R-S.C.
The state's Republican governor, Henry McMaster, has thrown his support behind Trump.
DeSantis also reacted to the bipartisan border-Ukraine deal being forged in the Senate. Host Laura Ingraham named prime supporters of the legislation to be Sens. James Lankford, R-Okla., Thom Tillis, R-N.C., Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and several Democrats led by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York.
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"When I'm president, that'll be dead on arrival," he said of the plan, which he and Ingraham critiqued for being too lax on allowing thousands of migrants into the country while earmarking a large sum for Ukraine once more.
"Some of these Republicans are just so out-of-touch with the voters," DeSantis continued. "I've gone to all 99 counties in Iowa. It's not a border state, and yet every single town hall I do, I get multiple questions about illegal immigration and about the border."
"Republicans want people that are here illegally to be deported, which we need to do. They want to end these insane border policies that Biden's doing."
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