DeSantis Campaign Refutes Op-ed Suggesting Potential Withdrawal If He Loses Iowa Caucuses

Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas, Nev., on Oct. 28, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s campaign has refuted an op-ed asserting that the Republican presidential candidate intends to drop out from the race should he lose the Iowa caucuses to former President Donald Trump.

The op-ed, published by The Hill on Jan. 6, claims that “a major donor and a high-level political operative” have asserted Mr. DeSantis would announce his exit from the race either on the night of the caucuses on Jan. 15 or the following day if President Trump wins in Iowa.

The two unnamed sources said that Mr. DeSantis could potentially endorse President Trump after losing in Iowa, according to the report penned by political and communications consultant Douglas MacKinnon.

Bryan Griffin, press secretary for Mr. DeSantis, refuted the report and claimed that President Trump’s team was responsible for the “hack op-ed.”

“Team Trump must be getting nervous. They’re acting like the leftist media, pushing fake news from a hack op-ed and anonymous sources,” Mr. Griffin stated on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Jan. 7.

“Ron DeSantis is in this for the long haul,” he added.

Mr. DeSantis has said he expects to win Iowa despite trailing far behind the former president in polls. Polling analysis website FiveThirtyEight shows that President Trump is leading in Iowa with 50 percent of the votes, followed by Mr. DeSantis with 18.4 percent.

DeSantis Shakes Up Campaign

Mr. DeSantis has shaken up his campaign staff and recalibrated his message several times over the past year and has bet heavily on a strong Iowa finish. He visited all 99 counties, aided by an aligned super PAC, Never Back Down, that spent the summer and fall sending organizers door to door to recruit supporters.

During his campaign event in Grimes, Des Moines, on Sunday, Mr. DeSantis was asked if he would continue his campaign beyond Iowa caucuses, and he replied: “You have to be built for the long haul. We’ve got a great organization in these other early states.”

Miami-Dade Republicans have overwhelmingly supported President Trump to be the GOP presidential nominee; 53 of the 65 sitting members voted for the former president, while just five backed Mr. DeSantis during a Jan. 3 meeting.

The straw poll results in bordering Broward County on Jan. 4 were similar, with 72 of the 83 members voting for President Trump, and only four supporting Mr. DeSantis.

“It further proves that Miami-Dade County is Trump country, and Florida overall is Trump country,” said Kevin Cabrera, commissioner for Miami-Dade’s sixth district and a backer of the former president.

Broward Republican State Committeeman Richard DeNapoli said he believes that “history is repeating itself” as President Trump’s GOP opponents severely underestimate the former president and his widespread support.

“You had 16 people taking him on in 2016, and he wiped them all out,” he said.

“And it’s the same scenario, it’s like, their best day is their announcement day, and then Trump starts leaning on them, you know, talking about their record or whatever, whatever the issues are, and then they don’t make it.”

Mr. DeNapoli said taking on President Trump in the Republican primaries is a “suicide mission” for any serious candidate looking for the nomination, in part because of the former president’s “universal name ID.”

He believes that Mr. DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy will drop out eventually, but at different times.

Jacob Burg and The Associated Press contributed to this report.