Des Moines, Iowa - As Iowa prepares to cast their votes for the Republican Party's presidential nomination, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis remains optimistic that he will win despite his notable drop in the polls.

DeSantis was considered by many to be the only politician capable of taking on Donald Trump when he first announced his campaign last May.

Throughout the primary race, however, DeSantis has failed to gain traction with voters as Trump has continued to grow his lead.

Challenger Nikki Haley has seen notable poll surges, knocking DeSantis out of second place in some states – including Iowa.

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Nonetheless, DeSantis remains confident that his efforts will defy expectations when Iowans cast their ballots.

In an interview with ABC News on Sunday, DeSantis gave a final plea to voters where he slammed Trump for "running on his issues" and argued that Haley is not getting support from actual conservatives, which he believes is "not the way you can win and galvanize support from the party faithful."

He went on to say that he preferred to be the "underdog" in the race and cast doubts about polling data, saying that he believes he will do well in spite of it.

"We're going to do well, but I'd rather have people count us out," he explained. "I'd rather have people lower expectations for us. I tend to perform better like that."

DeSantis remained confident early Monday when he was asked directly by a reporter with MSNBC if he had any plans to drop out – even if he comes in third place.

"We're in it for the long haul. We're going to do well," he responded. "I know the media likes to do the speculation... I'm excited for the votes to come in."

DeSantis also noted that the Iowa caucuses are "all about the accumulation of delegates."