(Bloomberg) -- Ron DeSantis’ campaign delivered one of its starkest critiques yet of Republican rival Nikki Haley days before the Iowa caucus, saying her spending on advertisements attacking the Florida governor were motivated by “greed” and have only boosted former president Donald Trump.

“She’s trying to knock Ron DeSantis out of the race even if that grows Donald Trump’s ballot share,” DeSantis deputy campaign manager David Polyansky said at a Bloomberg News event in Des Moines, Iowa on Friday. “That’s a level of greed in Republican presidential primary politics I don’t think I’ve ever seen.” 

Haley and DeSantis have largely focused their attacks on each other as they battle for second place in Iowa, where recent polls show frontrunner Trump with over 50% support. Polyansky’s comments to Bloomberg News largely centered on attacking Haley, rather than Trump. 

“Her super PAC has spent over $20 million attacking Ron DeSantis in Iowa alone,” Polyansky said, adding that he sees no path for Haley to win the Republican nomination and that a vote for her is ultimately one for Trump. 

“If she peels off the vote, it will go to Donald Trump,” he said. “It will not go to Nikki Haley and you’ve seen that play out in the state. If you’ve seen any growth from Donald Trump over the last few months, it’s because Nikki Haley and her super PAC are spending tens of millions of dollars, by the way, not trying to win here.” 

Haley spokesperson Olivia Perez-Cubas said in response that “after burning through $150 million in Iowa with nothing to show for it, DeSantis will say anything to try to distract from his flailing campaign. Nikki is the only Trump alternative candidate with the resources and momentum to go the distance.” 

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DeSantis gained national name recognition after a landslide reelection win in Florida in 2022, endearing him to big-dollar donors who viewed him as the future of the Republican party. Since then, he has struggled to make his pitch to voters on why they should move on from Trump. 

In Iowa, where blizzard-like conditions canvassed the state on Friday, DeSantis has focused efforts on retail politicking — aiming to get face time with voters in the final days before the caucus on Monday. He’s visited all 99 of Iowa’s counties in a strategy made famous by the state’s longtime Republican US Senator Chuck Grassley. 

Still, polls show DeSantis trailing Trump by a wide margin with some surveys showing him slipping behind Haley into third place.

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Polyansky said Haley has sidestepped questions about whether she would be Trump’s running mate, while he said that DeSantis would decline.

“She continues to refuse to answer the question whether she would accept his vice presidential nomination opportunity. I will say it again here on the record. Would Ron DeSantis take it? No. Would Nikki Haley take it? I don’t know,” Polyansky said.

Haley has said she will not “play for second” in terms of being Trump’s vice president.

DeSantis prefers to run as an underdog and has hit his “groove” after multiple Iowa appearances, Polyansky said. It’s unclear if that will be enough to place second in the Iowa caucuses, or even cause a surprise upset on Monday night, which is forecast to have unprecedented frigid weather.

Over the past few weeks, DeSantis has had some of his strongest performances at recent town halls — but internal turmoil between his campaign and his allied super PAC, Never Back Down, has consumed much of the narrative about his campaign.

Leaders within DeSantis’ political operation have sparred over messaging, prompting several top officials to step down. Over the summer, DeSantis’ campaign also faced cash shortages after overspending, which rattled donors.

As DeSantis has stumbled, Haley has risen in the polls and attracted deep-pocketed Wall Street donors.

Even if DeSantis overperforms in Iowa, the conservative candidate has a steep hill to climb in more moderate New Hampshire, where he’s polling in single-digits and Haley is better positioned to be the alternative to Trump.

Polyansky maintained the governor still has momentum to compete for delegates in later states.

“Whether it’s here, when he goes to New Hampshire, he’s been in South Carolina, and upcoming even when we go into Nevada, this is somebody that’s on the stump day after day relentlessly campaigning for votes,” he said, indicating the candidate won’t drop out after Iowa.

--With assistance from Christian Hall.

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