Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is cutting back on staffers for his Republican presidential campaign over financial concerns, according to multiple reports.
The DeSantis campaign has made two rounds of cutbacks over the last week for a total of 38 jobs, which is closer to former President Trump’s entire campaign staff, Politico first reported.
After the campaign announced it raised $20 million during the second quarter of the year, it had spent a large chunk of that from donors who had maxed out their giving, according to the outlet.
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DeSantis was expected to give Trump a run for his money, but he has lagged in the polls. The latest Morning Consult poll has Trump leading DeSantis by 43-percentage points, 59 percent to his 16 percent.
“This marks one of Trump’s largest advantages over his closest polling rival — and one of DeSantis’ lowest levels of support — since Morning Consult began tracking the primary race in early December,” Eli Yokley, Morning Consult’s U.S. politics analyst said.
An anonymous DeSantis donor told the New York Times he expects this fundraising quarter to be an “extremely tough slog” because “donor interest in Mr. DeSantis has dried up considerably.”
Team DeSantis remains optimistic.
“Following a top-to-bottom review of our organization, we have taken additional, aggressive steps to streamline operations and put Ron DeSantis in the strongest position to win this primary and defeat Joe Biden,” DeSantis campaign manager Generra Peck said in a statement. “Gov. DeSantis is going to lead the Great American Comeback and we’re ready to hit the ground running as we head into an important month of the campaign.”
Peck reportedly told donors at a retreat in Utah that DeSantis would be holding smaller, more intimate events and cutting down on travel costs in contrast to Trump’s stadium rallies.
