Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis plans to solider on in the Republican primary race as his campaign says that the presidential hopeful has most certainly “earned his ticket out of Iowa.”
Former President Donald Trump won the Iowa caucuses in a blowout victory, and the race was called for him just 30 minutes into the start of the highly anticipated night. DeSantis made it clear earlier in the day that he had no plans to drop out regardless of the night’s results. On Monday night, his campaign reiterated that point but took it a step further, concluding that DeSantis successfully “earned his ticket out of Iowa.”
“They threw everything at Ron DeSantis. They couldn’t kill him. He is not only still standing, but he’s now earned his ticket out of Iowa,” the DeSantis campaign told Fox News.
“This is going to be a long battle ahead, but that is what this campaign is built for. The stakes are too high for this nation and we will not back down,” it added:
NEW: Statement from senior @RonDeSantis campaign official to @FoxNews:
"They threw everything at Ron DeSantis. They couldn’t kill him. He is not only still standing, but he’s now earned his ticket out of Iowa. This is going to be a long battle ahead, but that is what this…
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) January 16, 2024
The statement follows DeSantis’s campaign, as well as allies, actually accusing the media, essentially, of being in Trump’s corner after calling the race early on in the process. Some even used the words “election interference”:
When Fox sent out this “breaking news” people in the precinct I was monitoring in Des Moines were still speaking and had not even cast votes. Corporate media election interference. https://t.co/0SpmGfojsq
— Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) January 16, 2024
Absolutely outrageous that the media would participate in election interference by calling the race before tens of thousands of Iowans even had a chance to vote. The media is in the tank for Trump and this is the most egregious example yet.
— Andrew Romeo (@andrewromeo33) January 16, 2024
I’m at a precinct that hasn’t even voted yet, and the media are trying to call the race for Trump.
— Jeremy Redfern (@JeremyRedfernFL) January 16, 2024
The news also comes as Vivek Ramaswamy drops out of the race and endorses Trump.
.@VivekGRamaswamy endorses Donald Trump for president! pic.twitter.com/9XouREup7z
— MAGA War Room (@MAGAIncWarRoom) January 16, 2024
As of 11:37 p.m. Eastern with over 95 percent of the votes in, Trump led the Iowa caucuses with 51 percent support, per the New York Times.
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