Campaign In Crisis: Ron DeSantis Fires Roughly a Dozen Staffers in Ominous Shake-up
July 16 2023, Published 12:30 p.m. ET
Ron DeSantis' presidential campaign is undergoing a major shakeup as he fires several staffers in an effort to cut costs, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Less than two months into his campaign, the Florida Governor has already let go of a dozen mid-level staffers across various departments, with more expected to follow. The departures come after the recent exits of David Abrams and Tucker Obenshain, both veterans of DeSantis' political sphere.
Sources close to the campaign told NBC News that there was an internal assessment that too many staffers were hired too early.
Despite raising $20 million in the first six weeks of his campaign, it has become clear that costs must be brought down. This has led to criticism of campaign manager Generra Peck, who is now facing scrutiny for her decision-making.
"They never should have brought so many people on, the burn rate was way too high," said one Republican source familiar with the campaign's thought process. "People warned the campaign manager, but she (Peck) wanted to hear none of it."
"DeSantis stock isn't rising," the donor added. "Twenty percent is not what people signed up for."
DeSantis has a history of frequent staff turnover, with no core team that has worked together before. The presidential hopeful had three different campaign teams for each of his two runs for Congress and a major shakeup during his first run for governor in 2018.
According to campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission, DeSantis' campaign had 92 people on the payroll during its first fundraising period, the most of any Republican presidential candidate. However, this has left the campaign with significant payroll expenses and fewer resources than anticipated.
While DeSantis has $12 million in the bank, $3 million of that can only be used during the general election. Additionally, roughly two-thirds of his early donors have already given the maximum legal amount and cannot contribute further to his campaign.
To compensate for these challenges, the pro-DeSantis super PAC, Never Back Down, has pledged to spend up to $200 million to support his White House bid. The super PAC has a larger staff than the official campaign and is expected to focus on early states and Super Tuesday states.
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, the Never Back Down PAC also had to recently fire one of their canvassers after they were caught on camera admitting to working while being high and saying, "F--- you, eat my b--ls."
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DeSantis himself has largely blamed media coverage and external factors for his campaign's slow start. He has acknowledged the need to refocus and has outlined a strategy to capture the support of "softly committed" early state voters, including whatever Donald Trump supporters he can muster.
According to Real Clear Politics, recent polling averages show that Trump remains strong at a 32.4 point lead ahead of DeSantis at 53 percent, while DeSantis is far behind with just 20.6 percent.
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