After some months of flat or lagging poll numbers and disappointing fundraising, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appears to be in the midst of a campaign shakeup.
There are several reports from various media outlets that all use stunningly similar language about “shedding staff” and a “cash crunch” within the campaign.
Here’s the Politico report, for example, which seemed to be the first out of the gate on Saturday:
Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign is shedding staff as it navigates a cash crunch and looks to refocus resources on Iowa.
Fewer than 10 staffers were let go by the Florida governor’s campaign Thursday, according to a person familiar with the internal deliberations and granted anonymity to describe them. Each of the aides was involved in event planning, and some of them may soon wind up at an allied outside group. Never Back Down, the pro-DeSantis super PAC, has received resumes from staffers who’ve been let go, a person familiar with the group said.
The decision to shed the staff comes as the DeSantis campaign has struggled to meet its fundraising expectations. Though the governor raised $20 million in the second quarter of this year, $3 million of that was earmarked for the general election. In addition, only about 15 percent of his donations came from small-dollar donors, a level he will likely have to enhance in order to keep up with former President Donald Trump, who has built a robust small-dollar network over the years. DeSantis’ campaign spent more than $1 million on payroll, payroll taxes, insurance and processing fees in the second quarter with roughly 90 staffers on the books.
Despite his fundraising difficulties, DeSantis remains firmly in second place in the GOP primary behind Trump, and Never Back Down has raised more than $100 million.
That doesn’t sound like a campaign on its death bed considering that the fundraising numbers are strong, but not as strong as the campaign higher-ups were hoping for or expecting.
What it seems like is the snowball effect never took off the way advisors had hoped back in May when DeSantis announced. The thinking was that once the Governor announced, more support would flood in and Trump might lose ten or fifteen points overnight. That scenario never happened, in fact, it was quite the opposite.
As it stands now, the DeSantis campaign is refocusing and redoubling efforts on Iowa which means they’re very concerned about competing anywhere else on the primary map if they can’t be competitive in the very first contest.
It’s becoming an Iowa-or-nothing strategy for DeSantis in battling Trump.
The DeSantis super PAC, Never Back Down, has $100 million in the bank but that doesn’t help the campaign directly.
Given that something isn’t working quite right with the Governor’s strategy or within the fundraising appeal, it’s no surprise to see a campaign shakeup happening sooner rather than later. It’s summertime and fewer people are paying attention to the race right now. The real test will be judging where DeSantis is standing after Labor Day when more and more voters start tuning in.
If the poll numbers haven’t budged against Trump nationally or in the early states, DeSantis will continue feeling a cash crunch as he tries to build out a national ground operation.
Donors don’t like to waste money (except for those backing Chris Christie) and if DeSantis still can’t get any traction in the next few months, the “campaign shakeup” stories are going to get worse.
