Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign launched its first Iowa television ad of the 2024 cycle on Wednesday, hitting the airwaves weeks earlier than planned.
The 30-second ad contrasts DeSantis’ leadership of Florida with President Joe Biden’s tenure in office. It highlights DeSantis’ efforts to bring Americans back from Israel, to recover after hurricane damage and his deployment of Florida troops to the southern border.
The campaign initially reserved a $2 million ad buy, which would begin in mid-November and run through the Jan. 15 Iowa Caucus, then made an additional $320,000 buy to launch on Nov. 1 instead.
In a Wednesday news release, the campaign credited a “strong fundraising pace in the fourth quarter” for the additional airtime.
DeSantis reported raising $15 million in the third quarter of this year between his campaign and his “Never Back Down” political action committee. (Former President Donald Trump announced his campaign raised more than $45 million in the same time period.)
The surprise ad launch also comes just days after a new Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom Iowa Poll found DeSantis and former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley tied for second place among likely Republican caucusgoers. They trail 27 points behind former Trump, who 43% of poll respondents named as their first choice for president.
A super PAC supporting Trump recently launched a six-figure ad buy in Iowa attacking DeSantis. The DeSantis campaign contends that ad is “a sign that DeSantis has Trump on defense in the Hawkeye State.”
Although Wednesday’s ad buy is the first from DeSantis’ official campaign, Never Back Down has already unveiled several ads on his behalf.
DeSantis will return to Iowa on Friday, visiting at least five more counties on his 99-county bus tour. He’ll be in Des Moines on Nov. 6 for a rally before the next GOP debate in Miami on Nov. 8.
More:Check out the Des Moines Register’s 2024 candidate tracker
Katie Akin is a politics reporter for the Register. Reach her at[email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @katie_akin.