Ron and Casey DeSantis make a final push ahead of the Iowa Caucuses. What they're saying:

WAUKEE, Iowa — AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” bellowed through the Waukee Community Center at 9 a.m. Wednesday, heralding the entrance of Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis.

The Waukee event was the first stop of a rigorous "Countdown to Caucus" tour, as the Florida governor makes the final push for his candidacy ahead of the Jan. 15 Iowa Caucus. He will bounce between some of Iowa’s biggest cities this week, riding the "Never Back Down" bus from Sioux City to Dubuque to Cedar Rapids.

He so far has planned events through Sunday.

“Make your voice heard. Bring friends, neighbors, family members," he urged the crowd in Waukee. "This country is something that's worth fighting for, and what you're able to do in Iowa is going to reverberate all across this country."

DeSantis is banking on a strong caucus finish to knock out challengers like former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley and propel him to a one-on-one challenge with former President Donald Trump.

The Florida governor already has spent significant time and resources on the first-in-the-nation state. After visiting all of Iowa's 99 counties in 2023, DeSantis celebrated New Year's Eve with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds in West Des Moines, then watched the Iowa Hawkeyes lose the Citrus Bowl at an Ankeny house party.

But polling shows DeSantis still has a significant gap to close. A Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom Iowa Poll from December shows DeSantis in second place among likely Republican caucusgoers, with 19% support. Haley is close behind DeSantis, with 16%.

They both trail Trump by more than 30 percentage points.

On Wednesday, DeSantis dismissed Trump's commanding lead in the polls.

"These polls are garbage," he said. "A year before Ronald Reagan ran against Jimmy Carter, they were putting out polls saying Carter was winning by 24 points. Ronald Reagan won a huge landslide the following year."

More: DeSantis says Iowa Caucus polling is 'never accurate.' We checked. Here's what we found:

How is Ron DeSantis making the case against Trump in Iowa?

Throughout his presidential campaign, DeSantis primarily has focused on his record in Florida and his criticism of Democrats and "woke" ideology.

But Trump's significant popularity among Republicans and the 91 criminal charges against him have cast a long shadow over DeSantis and the entire 2024 cycle.

An attendee at the Waukee event asked DeSantis why he hasn't "gone directly" after Trump. DeSantis challenged the premise: "I've articulated all of the differences. ... What the media wants is, they want Republican candidates to smear him personally. That's just not how I roll."

DeSantis has criticized Trump more often in recent months, arguing that the former president did not keep his campaign promises from 2016 and is too focused on his own issues. He argued Trump would not be able to win a general election.

More: DeSantis, Haley want a 1-on-1 race with Trump. First, they're trying to take out each other

"There are just going to be so many voters that are activated to come out and vote against him. And it's not even related to policy, it's related to other things ... and the whole election will end up being a referendum on his behavior," he said Wednesday.

However, DeSantis and other Republican presidential candidates have tread delicately around Trump's criminal charges. DeSantis and Haley both said they would pardon Trump if he was found guilty.

Casey DeSantis makes her own Iowa campaign stops

Casey DeSantis, first lady of Florida and wife to Ron DeSantis, is adding to the campaign's efforts in Iowa. As the caucus nears, the first lady has her own packed campaign schedule, including six events with Never Back Down this week.

"I think a lot of Republicans, when I talk to them, they're very tired of losing," Casey DeSantis told the Des Moines Register last month. "They want to be able to see Republicans be successful. And it's not only about winning elections, they actually want to see people deliver and execute upon their promises."

She and the three DeSantis kids have been active in Iowa throughout the campaign. Casey DeSantis launched the Iowa chapter of "Mamas for DeSantis," a group of conservative parents who back the Florida governor, and she's shared anecdotes with caucusgoers about raising a family in the governor's mansion and her battle with breast cancer.

Her stories often carry emotional weight that Ron DeSantis' answers lack: When asked about holiday traditions at a Christmas toy drive in West Des Moines, for instance, Ron DeSantis spoke about the logistics of choosing which room to open presents in. Casey DeSantis recalled the family's tradition of baking Christmas cookies and choosing their favorite one to leave for Santa.

"It's a mess," she said, smiling. "I mean, they eat more of the icing, and then it's all over the place and it's on their clothes. But that's really special."

When asked in early December if the first lady was his "secret weapon," Ron DeSantis acknowledged her star power on the trail.

"I like being with her on the campaign trail, but from a campaign strategy perspective, it's better for her to be doing her own events because she draws crowds (and) she flips voters," he said.

Brianne Pfannenstiel contributed reporting.

Katie Akin is a politics reporter for the Register. Reach her at kakin@registermedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @katie_akin.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Ron and Casey DeSantis make final blitz before Iowa Caucuses