Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is picking up the pace of his New Hampshire campaign.
The presidential hopeful has begun prioritizing the Granite State as former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley continues to gain momentum in early-voting states.
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Recent polling shows a drop in support for DeSantis. A recent NBC poll of Iowa voters shows him and Haley tied in a distant second place behind former President Donald Trump. Similar trends are taking shape in New Hampshire.
In an exclusive interview with NBC10 Boston, DeSantis says he's comfortable with the current standing of his campaign.
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"I would not trade places with anybody for where we are in Iowa, and I think our pathway to New Hampshire is strong, as well," he said.
We pressed DeSantis on that, asking if the political headwinds he's facing have caused him to put more emphasis on the first-in-the-nation primary.
"I was always committed to doing the first two states full monte," said DeSantis. "My view is, those two, we're going to be going back and forth for the rest of this year and into January."
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During our discussion, we touched on the migrant housing crisis currently facing Massachusetts.
"You just can't operate a country like this, there isn't enough room and resources to have millions of people pouring in," DeSantis said.
NBC10 Boston asked DeSantis about his decision to send migrants to Martha's Vineyard and whether it was simply a political stunt.
"It definitely had an effect that put this on the map like no one thought possible," DeSantis said. "Martha's Vineyard said they were sanctuary, they didn't want to follow through with that, but it got a lot of media attention, way more than I thought would happen."
Zooming out to a global view, we asked how he would handle war between Israel and Hamas.
"I would not try to restrain [Israel], they need to deal with this problem once and for all. This is a terrorist group that wants a second holocaust," said DeSantis said.
The Middle East situation is likely to come up at the third GOP debate next Wednesday in Miami. DeSantis says he's preparing to face off against his Republican counterparts and is excited to see fewer faces on the stage.
"The reality is when you have seven or eight people up there, it's just back and forth, the crosstalk, and I'm, like, in the middle of this," he said. "So if you have four or five candidates over a two-hour period to have more time to address the issues."
The third GOP debate is scheduled for 8 p.m. next Wednesday, Nov. 8, and will air on NBC10 Boston.
