Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has laid off one-third of his campaign staff amid struggling poll numbers.
A total of 38 members of his staff were cut on Tuesday after an “internal review.”
According to Politico, who first reported on the shakeup, the layoffs include the “roughly 10 event planning positions that were announced several weeks ago, in addition to the recent departures of two senior DeSantis campaign advisers, Dave Abrams and Tucker Obenshain.”
“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 obtained by the outlet. “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.”
During the second quarter of the year, DeSantis’ campaign had said that they raised $20 million but had spent a large amount of it. A significant problem that they are facing is that much of that money came from donors who have now given the maximum allowed contributions — meaning that they cannot donate again.
Trump has held and maintained a strong lead over DeSantis since the governor announced his candidacy, and that lead seems to only be getting stronger.
DeSantis is even struggling to win over voters in his own state.
A poll, conducted by Florida Atlantic University Mainstreet PolCom Lab earlier this month, found that 50 percent of Republican primary voters in Florida support Trump. DeSantis is in second place, with just 30 percent support.
“Although DeSantis and Trump enjoy significant popularity among Floridians, Trump maintains a formidable 20 percent lead over DeSantis among statewide GOP primary voters, with Trump capturing the support of 50 percent of Republican voters compared to DeSantis’ 30 percent,” the pollsters reported.
The poll additionally found that one in five Florida Republicans perceive supporting a candidate other than Trump in the primaries as “disloyal,” which they noted poses “a challenging environment for any contender seeking to challenge the former president’s dominance.”
A Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll survey released on Monday saw businessman Vivek Ramaswamy rising, while DeSantis continues to flop.
“When respondents were asked whom they would vote for if the GOP presidential primary were today, 52 percent said Trump, 12 percent said DeSantis and 10 percent said Ramaswamy,” The Hill reports.
Ramaswamy’s number represents an eight-point boost since their last poll.
“One of the biggest surprises in the poll is how Ramaswamy has risen in the polls with DeSantis who continues to lose support to the growing field. Last time a lot of Republicans had mini surges, so this is not unusual for new entrants — the test will be whether he can go any further in the next two months or someone like Tim Scott will surge next,” said Mark Penn, the co-director of the Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll survey.
