Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis and wife Casey share their all-American conservative Christmas in a Newsmax holiday special that aired Saturday.
Casey DeSantis and the couple's three young children joined the governor in Iowa. In fact, the DeSantis kids — ages 7, 5, and 3 — saw snow for the first time recently in the state.
Florida's first lady has appeared at campaign events and has also knocked on doors to help win over supporters for her husband.
"I want them to know about Ron DeSantis," she told "Newsline" host Bianca de la Garza in an interview that aired in part on the Christmas special. "He is the real deal.
"When he says he's going to do something, he gets it done. He delivers on 100% of his promises, and I think we as Republicans, we are tired of losing.
"He showed in the state of Florida that you can win and you can win big. And when he won by that largest landslide in the history of the state of Florida, [it] wasn't just Republicans. It was independents and, indeed, Democrats were coming on board to support him because of his leadership. And so I want people to know that."
Ron DeSantis told de la Garza his determination to deliver on his promises was one reason he did not declare his candidacy for the GOP presidential nomination until after the Florida legislature had finished its session in late May.
"A lot of people were talking about the presidential [campaign], but I said, 'Look, I got to deliver on these promises,'" he told de la Garza. "So we had the most impactful run in state government in 2023 that's ever happened in the state of Florida.
"The things that we were able to accomplish, no one would have thought possible. We really set the standard. And I thought that that was very, very important that I made promises and I delivered on those promises."
On a bus tour between recent campaign stops in The Hawkeye State, DeSantis told de la Garza he is working to win over conservatives less than a month before the Jan. 15 caucuses.
"A lot of them are coming up to me saying, 'You know, I was undecided, but I'm for you now,'" DeSantis told de la Garza in interviews that aired in part on the Newsmax Christmas Special. "And I think people think that people have already decided, when in reality there's a lot of fluidity with this.
"Traditionally, the thing really takes shape … 7 to 14 days out, and I think that's what you're going to see. I think once the calendar turns, I think a lot of those folks are going to be starting to make final decisions."
Recent poll results for the 2024 GOP primary race found DeSantis trails former President Donald Trump by a wide margin in Iowa.
But, for many people in the state, brief personal interaction seems to make a difference.
"They are used to people coming to earn their vote, and it does make a difference," DeSantis said.
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