On Saturday, I visited the DeSantis headquarters for a Commit to Caucus event for Polk County residents. When I arrived, it was to a sea of reporters from across the globe. Once inside, I found my spot in the corner behind the tables of DeSantis campaign volunteers and staff. I arrived about 20 minutes before it was scheduled to start, and the room was packed with little room to move by. Although it was packed with people, it was hard to tell if even half of the room was filled with Iowa caucusgoers.
Reporters took up a huge chunk of the room, with cameras and microphones everywhere you looked, so it was easy to spot them. They took up the entire back part of the room, and many were intermingled, interviewing many guests. Another group in the room was Floridians. The governor of Florida had enlisted the help of native Floridians in his Iowa effort, and it was on full display in the room. Many were at tables before the event, calling potential Iowa caucusgoers and asking them to show up Monday night to voice their support for DeSantis.
The reason that I bring up the demographics of the room is that less than half of Iowans were going to caucus for DeSantis. This is interesting because the mood in the room was very energetic, and many seemed fired up for Monday night, but many could not caucus come Monday night.
As the event wore on, it was getting hot in the office space as many were crammed into the small space. Luckily, the DeSantis campaign gave out some fans graciously welcomed by the audience.
After about an hour of waiting since the event began, DeSantis and his Kim Reynolds and Bob Vanderplaats entourage entered the venue to a roar of applause. The rest of the event was much the same as the other DeSantis events I attended. He told the audience that he needed their vote on caucus night, and they could shock the nation.
We will see who comes out on top in the Iowa caucuses on Monday night. There have been surprises in the past, but Iowan Ann Selzer often has the most accurate Iowa Caucus poll. Her most recent poll a few days ago had DeSantis in third place of likely Iowa caucusgoers. With this in mind, DeSantis may be in trouble once the results pour in across the state.
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