Poll: Tim Scott closes in on Ron DeSantis in Iowa

Gov. Ron DeSantis plans a bus tour through parts of Iowa next week and new polling from the Hawkeye State suggests he needs it.

A Fox Business survey released on Sunday reveals just five points separate the Florida Governor and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott.

DeSantis has 16% support, with Scott at 11%.

Both contenders are far behind Donald Trump, who is 46%.

The rest of the field is in single digits: Vivek Ramaswamy at 6%, Nikki Haley at 5%, Mike Pence at 4%, Chris Christie and Doug Burgum at 3% each, and Asa Hutchinson and Francis Suarez at 1%.

This survey is the second in the last few days to show a Scott surge.

A recent Coefficient Poll shows DeSantis has 16% support, with Scott at 10%. Again, Trump is at 46%.

The poll comes in the wake of a DeSantis campaign memo that says Scott is a target for the foreseeable future, a seeming tacit admission that the South Carolina Senator’s surge is at the Governor’s expense.

“While Tim Scott has earned a serious look at this stage, his bio is lacking the fight that our electorate is looking for in the next President,” the memo asserts. “We expect Tim Scott to receive appropriate scrutiny in the weeks ahead.”

The new polling otherwise reinforces a familiar narrative in the Hawkeye State, one established by independent surveys.

A July survey conducted by National Research Inc. and reported by American Greatness reveals Trump leads DeSantis, 44% to 21%.

In a recent National Public Affairs poll, Trump is up 41% to 18%.

The Race to the White House average for the state shows Trump leading DeSantis, 44% to 19%.