DeSantis sets sights on weakening Haley in South Carolina as both push for 1-on-1 race with Trump

MANCHESTER, N.H. — The spotlight in the race for the Republican presidential nomination has moved to New Hampshire ahead of Tuesday's primary. But as one of the challengers, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, traverses the state, his operation is also focusing attention on a more distant contest — South Carolina's Feb. 24 primary.

Unlike his rivals, former President Donald Trump and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, DeSantis did not fly straight to New Hampshire after Monday's Iowa caucuses, in which he placed a distant second behind Trump, instead beelining for the Palmetto State.

There, on Tuesday, he packed an airline hangar for a Greenville rally and held a press conference at the state Capitol in Columbia.

And while he returned to New Hampshire in time for a planned evening rally that was eventually canceled due to weather, DeSantis will make more stops in South Carolina before New Hampshire voters cast their ballots, according to people with knowledge of his campaign's thinking.

A senior campaign official confirms a majority of DeSantis' staff is being relocated to South Carolina and he will be hosting campaign events there on Saturday and Sunday.

That approach bucks the typical strategy of presidential contenders, who tend to capitalize on New Hampshire's second-place spot on the nominating calendar by spending the entirety of the gap between Iowa and New Hampshire in the latter state.

But the DeSantis campaign sees some opportunity to put pressure on Haley in her home state with limited downside for him in New Hampshire, where his public support has plummeted to roughly 25 points behind Haley, according to 538's latest polling average of the state.

In South Carolina, DeSantis trails Haley by half that and has secured more