DeSantis spent $1,497 per vote in Iowa just to get utterly crushed by Trump

• Ron DeSantis invested substantial time and money in his unsuccessful quest to win the Iowa caucuses.
• The governor handily lost to Trump and spent nearly $1,500 per vote in the critical Iowa contest.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis spent nearly $1,500 per vote in Iowa only to see his dreams of winning the Hawkeye State disintegrate with former President Donald Trump's blowout victory in the state's GOP caucuses on Monday.

According to data from AdImpact, DeSantis and his allied super PACs spent approximately $35.06 million in Iowa through January 15 and received roughly 23,000 votes during the caucuses. The result was DeSantis spending $1,497 per vote in Iowa. (The DeSantis campaign spent $3,021,449, while affiliated PACs spent $32,037,828, per AdImpact.)

Meanwhile, Trump and his allies spent nearly $18.5 million on advertising in Iowa through January 15, by far the lowest of the three leading operations, according to AdImpact. The former president received over 56,000 votes in the caucuses, meaning that Trump spent roughly $328 per vote in the state, a much leaner figure than DeSantis. (The Trump campaign spent $7,018,016, while affiliated PACs spent $11,454,607, per AdImpact.)

Former UN ambassador Nikki Haley and her broader operation spent roughly $37 million through that same period. She earned over 21,000 votes, coming in third place in the caucuses, having spent approximately $1,760 per vote. (Haley's campaign spent nearly $5 million on ads while affiliated PACs spent 32,144,446, per AdImpact.)

DeSantis' spending is likely far more than other competitors if direct spending in Iowa is considered and not merely ad spend. Business Insider didn't include this in our analysis, but few campaigns devoted more attention to Iowa than the Florida governor. He made it a point to highlight that he visited each of Iowa's 99 counties. Despite his lengthy slog, DeSantis is not currently projected to have won a single county in the state.

It's important to look at both direct campaign spending and super PAC support, especially since some candidates like DeSantis relied overwhelmingly on their outside operations.

Super PACs are not supposed to directly coordinate with a candidate's presidential campaign, but in practice that restriction is far from a firewall. For example, DeSantis essentially farmed out most of his Iowa operation to Never Back Down, an allied super PAC, which featured him as a guest on campaign stops throughout Iowa.

The former president's spending further illustrated how he has completely upended the traditional playbook to win Iowa. Unlike DeSantis, Trump held relatively few events in the state. Still, Trump's on track to have won by the largest margin ever in a competitive Iowa Republican caucus, having won an outright 51% majority, compared to DeSantis' 21% share and Haley's 19% share.

By all accounts, Trump's campaign built an impressive operation in Iowa, as they cultivated support among GOP officials and grassroots organizations early on and seemingly expanded on that support. If the former president's greater operation can continue his current spending pace, his allies should be able to enter a likely general election rematch in a relatively strong position.

President Joe Biden's campaign entered the year with $117 million on hand. The president's main allied super PAC, Future Forward, doesn't have to file updated numbers until the end of the month.