Karl Rove sees Ron DeSantis in third place in Iowa

Karl Rove. Image via AP.

Ron DeSantis is betting heavily on Iowa. But a prominent political commentator thinks the Florida Governor is on track to show, rather than win or place

During an interview on the Fox News Channel, Karl Rove suggested that the momentum is with former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, rather than the Florida Governor, as the leading alternative to Donald Trump as the Jan. 15 caucuses approach.

“She was at 6 points in the Iowa poll in August. By the beginning of October, she was tied at 16 with DeSantis, who declined from 19 to 16 over that same period. My sense is that Haley’s probably a few points ahead of him today,” Rove said on “America’s Newsroom” Tuesday morning.

Rove is referring to the leading public poll this month in his analysis. The Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom Iowa Poll conducted late last month showed DeSantis and Haley tied at 16%, with Trump at 43%.

That survey’s results were effectively corroborated by a Trafalgar Group survey conducted between Nov. 3-5, in which Trump’s 44% support is more than the aggregate backing for DeSantis (18%), Haley (15%) and Tim Scott (9%), who has since exited the presidential race.

Rove is bullish on Haley in the wake of her performance in the third presidential debate of the campaign cycle, which was held last week in Miami.

“We have evidence that she has moved because of the debates and the third debate. I think everybody agreed she did really well, you know, in large part because (Vivek Ramaswamy) kept coming after her in completely illogical and inappropriate ways and giving her a great chance to counter punch,” Rove said.

Rove offered an illustrative axiom from there.

“In politics, a punch hurts sometimes, but a counterpunch can work far more effectively most times, and she took advantage of it.”