As of the time that the caucuses commence on Monday night, DeSantis will have attended 138 public events across the state of Iowa, taking into account his plan for Monday.
The January Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom Iowa Poll has former president Donald Trump at 48% support among likely Republican caucusgoers. Tonight's caucus will determine if DeSantis' ground game in Iowa, which has included seven and a half months of door-to-door canvassing and driving, can match Trump's fame and fervor.
Saturday at the Never Back Down office, DeSantis reassured his supporters that they would never see an election "as meaningful as this one is going to be," and he urged them to face the sub-zero weather to caucus on Monday night.
Even if they unleash a snowstorm on us, we will fight. "We will fight no matter what," DeSantis assured the jubilant throng. They can try to use media narratives against us, but we will fight back. We will not back down, no matter how many false surveys they throw at us. We shall battle for the reversal of our nation's fortunes.
The DeSantis campaign did not inform the media of which caucus sites DeSantis will visit, while it is customary for candidates to do so before giving a farewell address. But instead, later on Monday night, he will presumably make an appearance at a West Des Moines caucus watch party.
When he initially entered the campaign last year, Florida governor Ron DeSantis appeared to be the strongest contender to challenge Trump in Iowa. However, since then, his poll numbers have remained flat, with no improvement from August, when he received 19% in the first Iowa Poll.
After falling to third place, DeSantis still received 16% of the vote among 705 potential Republican caucusgoers polled in Iowa from January 7th to the 12th.
Audiences in Iowa have been advised again and time again by DeSantis and his supporters not to believe poll findings for weeks. Never Back Down officegoer and conservative talk radio presenter Steve Deace defended Ron DeSantis, calling "psy-op polls" and "biased media" irrelevant in choosing the Republican nominee.