Struggling DeSantis sets sights on South Carolina, bypassing New Hampshire

New Hampshire - Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is all but abandoning New Hampshire’s Republican presidential primary next week and instead is relocating staff and focusing on South Carolina, where he hopes to pressure rival Nikki Haley in her home state.

The decision highlights the extent to which the DeSantis campaign is scrambling to reset after its big bet on winning Iowa failed to pay off.

Mr DeSantis came a distant second to former president Donald Trump

in Jan 15’s Iowa caucuses, the first Republican presidential nominating contest.

Although Mr DeSantis faces exceptionally tough odds in New Hampshire, there is no obvious road for a comeback anywhere else, including in South Carolina, where polls put him at a distant third.

Mr DeSantis and Mrs Haley are battling to emerge as the top alternative to Trump, the runaway frontrunner for the Republican nomination.

The DeSantis campaign now appears to be vying to edge Mrs Haley out of the race after South Carolina, a state where she was governor and where the primary will be held on Feb 24.

“When Nikki Haley fails to win her home state, she’ll be finished and this will be a two-person race,” a senior DeSantis campaign official told Reuters on Jan 17, confirming the report.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, would not say whether Mr DeSantis would return to New Hampshire, but the candidate has scheduled South Carolina events over the weekend.

Trump is ahead of both Mr DeSantis and Mrs Haley by a wide margin in South Carolina, with polling averages showing him with nearly 55 per cent support, compared with Mrs Haley at almost 25 per cent and Mr DeSantis at 12 per cent.

After his disappointing finish in Iowa on Jan 15 night, Mr DeSantis flew directly to South Carolina, rather than going straight to New Hampshire, as is tradition.

Only about 6 per cent of New Hampshire residents plan to vote for Mr DeSantis, according to polling averages, versus about 30 per cent for Mrs Haley and 43 per cent for Trump. Some recent polls have shown Mrs Haley and Trump in a much closer battle.

In Greenville, South Carolina, on Jan 16, Mr DeSantis criticised Mrs Haley at a campaign stop.

“She was governor here for six years. Can you name major achievements under her tenure?“ he said. “I mean, tell me if there are, because she hasn’t been able to do it.”

Asked for a response, Mrs Haley’s campaign said: “South Carolina is a great state. We hope they enjoy their vacation time here.”

Never Back Down, a pro-DeSantis fundraising super PAC that has played a major role in his campaign, has transferred several Iowa political staff to other early nominating states and has laid off other staff. REUTERS