DeSantis dispatches 3 top aides to Iowa

Ron DeSantis's campaign is moving three of its top officials to Iowa this week, a move that comes as the Florida governor is increasingly staking his hopes on a strong performance in the state's first-in-the-nation GOP nominating contest.

Deputy campaign manager David Polyansky, national political director Sam Cooper and communications director Andrew Romeo are among the DeSantis aides who will now work from Iowa through the caucus, according to a person familiar with the plan. In all, the campaign is sending roughly 20 people — or one-third — of its Tallahassee-based national staff to the state. Additional aides could be deployed to Iowa in December.

As part of the wave, the DeSantis campaign has set up a headquarters in Urbandale (the campaign had one other office up to this point). The governor is expected to visit the office this coming weekend, the person said. The campaign is also expected to open other satellite offices in the state in the run-up to the January caucus.

DeSantis’ allied super PAC, Never Back Down, has invested substantial resources in the state, hoping that a strong performance there will catapult him into contention. DeSantis himself has devoted a major amount of his time to Iowa too, visiting 92 of the state's 99 counties, according to his campaign. He also recently won the endorsement of the state's governor, Kim Reynolds.

Still, polls have shown him trailing former President Donald Trump in Iowa and competing for second place with former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley.

The New York Times first reported earlier this month the campaign's plans to deploy national staff to Iowa.

At least two other Republicans — entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott — had also sent top aides to the state. But, in a sign of the limitations of that approach, Scott ended his campaign over the weekend.