Election '24: DeSantis failed to quell doubters with distant second place finish in Iowa

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

76% : "Cedar Rapids resident Jamie Bradley, 44, also likes both Trump and DeSantis, but said "Trump is my number one.
69% : He listed off everything he likes about Trump, from the strong economy during his presidency to his border policies.
66% : A New Hampshire survey released this week by American Research Group had DeSantis with just 4% support, well behind Trump and Haley.
64% : But even more - 69% - viewed Trump favorably.
60% : "Getting past Trump, however, appears to be a monumental task, as Iowa showed.
60% : "If Trump wasn't running I'd vote for DeSantis," Bradley said, but "I like Trump more."Bradley likes that DeSantis hasn't been sharply critical of Trump.
59% : Trump won 98 Iowa counties Monday.
55% : Albert said he's "comfortable" with much of DeSantis' record, but said the governor was "a little aggressive with Disney" after the company opposed his bill limiting discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools.
55% : But if Haley upsets Trump in New Hampshire - polls show her within striking distance - DeSantis will have a tougher time claiming he's the best Trump slayer.
54% : "I like them both," Cedar Rapids resident Scott Pinter, who works in the construction industry, said of DeSantis and Trump as he waited for the governor to speak.
44% : Among four voters interviewed at the Chrome Horse Saloon, a biker bar in Cedar Rapids where DeSantis drew a crowd of roughly 100 people Sunday to a room with motorcycles hanging from the ceiling, two said they like DeSantis but were strongly leaning toward Trump, while the other two were undecided but leaning toward Haley.
43% : "I haven't seen him do digs against (Trump) and I think that's helped him," she said.
42% : "Pinter, 58, said he feels Trump and DeSantis are "both true conservatives" but added that he feels "it's probably not DeSantis' time."
39% : DeSantis supporters believe he can compete with Trump if the race becomes a one-on-one contest.
38% : "If it wasn't for Trump I'd be backing DeSantis.
37% : "He really needed to close that gap to be able to make the case he was the most viable alternative to Trump and he needed some distance between himself and Haley to make that argument strong and it just didn't happen," Hagle said.
37% : Janet Albert voted for Trump in the past but said, "I just feel like we need a change that pulls us together more.""I just am afraid of what would happen if Trump became president again," she added.
35% : Yet many of these voters picked Trump instead, while Haley is winning anti-Trump Republicans -- leaving DeSantis caught in the middle and struggling to find a path to primary wins.
31% : While DeSantis has run a hard right campaign aimed at winning over Trump supporters, Haley has attracted more moderate and center-right voters.
30% : "I don't care about the mean tweets, that doesn't mean anything to me," Pinter said of Trump.
26% : If Trump wins the next two states he may have too much momentum to stop him, even if the field narrows, Hagle said.
18% : Yet while DeSantis' relatively mild approach to criticizing Trump throughout much of the campaign - he sharpened his attacks toward the end - has helped him remain popular with many Trump fans, it also has made it harder to convince people to pick him over Trump.
18% : "It puts him squarely in the position as the alternative to Donald Trump," said Jose Oliva, who was Florida House speaker in 2018-20.

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