The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

DeSantis faces a bleak path ahead as he shifts resources to S.C.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) spoke at a winery in Derry, N.H. on Wednesday, where about 60 people attended and some empty space was cordoned off in the back. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post)
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Ron DeSantis is turning his sights to South Carolina, moving much of his presidential campaign staff there and assuring allies that he plans to stay in the Republican race for that late February contest after effectively surrendering in New Hampshire.

But the Florida governor’s path to the GOP nomination is bleaker than ever, with Donald Trump cracking 50 percent of the vote in Iowa this week and former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley running ahead of DeSantis in her home state.

In New Hampshire, which votes next on Tuesday, DeSantis has become an afterthought, tumbling into the single-digits in public polls and expected to finish a distant third. Many Republicans have questioned the viability of DeSantis’s candidacy, anticipating a string of defeats in upcoming states.

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