‘Welcome to Iowa’: DeSantis camp mocks Haley over massive ad buy announcement

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 2024 presidential campaign mocked former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley for announcing a massive spending spree into Iowa and New Hampshire.

She will dish out around $10 million aimed at shooting the former ambassador over DeSantis, particularly in Iowa, which will be the first state to caucus in January.

Haley’s campaign said DeSantis “is desperately staking his entire campaign on Iowa.”

“No amount of money will be enough for Nikki Haley to conceal her pro-China, pro-Gaza aid, pro-gas tax, and pro-Hillary record,” said Andrew Romeo, the DeSantis campaign’s communications director. “As Americans look behind the curtain, they will see she does not have the extensive record of conservative achievements that Ron DeSantis boasts.”

In an email, DeSantis’ campaign pointed to a Des Moines Register poll, particularly pointing out GOP voters’ second choice in the primary, the first typically being former President Donald Trump. It found that 41% of Trump voters would pick DeSantis second and 16% would choose Haley.

It found additional overlap between DeSantis voters who would pick Trump as their second choice.

“It’s clear there is no way Nikki Haley can beat Donald Trump, and every dollar spent on her candidacy is an in-kind to the Trump Campaign,” he said. “Ron DeSantis has the best combination of endorsements, ground game, and message in the early states, which is why the former president continues to attack only him.”

“We are confident the Iowa voters will see who will best represent them and their values,” Romeo said.

As of Monday, DeSantis’ campaign has completed 92 of touring Iowa’s 99 counties, the campaign said.

Also as of this week, DeSantis maintains his national runner-up position at around 14.4%, according to national GOP primary polls. He has seen a slight spike in the polls throughout November, though remains around 44 points behind Trump.

Haley polls at around 9%.