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DeSantis Campaign Lets Go of Dozens of Staff Members in an Effort to Reset
The DeSantis campaign has cut off hundreds of employees in an effort to assuage donor worries and simplify operations following Gov. Ron DeSantis' (R-FL) dismal showing in the GOP primary contest thus far.
The campaign allegedly let off 38 employees, which DeSantis' campaign manager, Generra Peck, termed as part of the governor's “aggressive steps” to “streamline operations” and increase the governor's poll numbers.
“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,” 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,” she went on to say.
According to federal documents, the campaign employed more than 90 people as of June, according to Politico.
This move comes at a time when opponents have pointed to the DeSantis campaign's paucity of small-dollar contributions. During an exclusive interview with Breitbart News earlier this month at the Turning Point Action Conference in West Palm Beach, Florida, Donald Trump Jr. reacted to early rumors of the DeSantis campaign cutting off personnel due to financial concerns.
He noted that DeSantis’s small-dollar donors were “almost non-existent, making up 15 percent of his take.”
“You can create a lot of personality with social media influencers, as they have done for the last two years sort of de facto running against [former President Donald] Trump. The reality is, in a Republican primary, like, eventually, you have to put that guy on the stage. And let’s just say, you know, once you get to know Ron DeSantis, you get to not like Ron DeSantis,” Don Jr. said, adding that the “Never Trump billionaire donor movement” caused what many see as the governor’s premature presidential campaign.
“I think that’s sort of the Never Trump billionaire donor movement, right? The people who you know, they say they’re for America, but you know, if they can get their widget for half a cent cheaper by getting it from China, that’s their guy,” he said.
“I think it’s pretty clear, as evidenced by the small-dollar donors — 15 percent of the entire take, right? So it’s all the billionaires; that’s who wants that because they want a president they can control,” he added, noting that his father is not tied to such personalities.
During an interview with Breitbart News at the Turning Point Action Conference, Jack Posobiec, senior editor at Human Events, also highlighted the health of the DeSantis campaign.
“People point to the super PAC and say, ‘Oh, the super PAC’s got all this money.’ Ok, but his campaign burn rate is bad. And that’s bad because of the lack of small-dollar donors,” he said.
That 15% of small-dollar donations “means 85 [percent] are these high-dollar donors, which means you haven’t built out the infrastructure for that small-dollar base,” he added.
The report comes on the heels of a leaked document branded as a “confidential friends and family update,” which described the DeSantis campaign's strategy to reinvent itself, as DeSantis has failed to make ground on Trump since entering the presidential race in late May. According to a Morning Consult survey released Tuesday, Trump has a 43-point advantage in the GOP primary, while DeSantis has dropped to 16 percent – a “weekly tracking low.”
“From what we can tell, pro-DeSantis efforts are currently and will continue to run a robust effort in Iowa, South Carolina, and New Hampshire, that includes paid media and field,” the memo stated, adding that the campaign will not dedicate resources to Super Tuesday despite identifying it as “critically important.” Instead, his campaign is focusing on New Hampshire and will “revisit this investment in the Fall.”
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