Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida is sharply cutting the size of his presidential campaign staff, reducing by one-third a payroll that had swelled to more
Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida is sharply cutting the size of his presidential campaign staff, reducing by one-third a payroll that had swelled to more than 90 people in his first two months as a candidate, according to four people familiar with the decision.
The DeSantis campaign has now made two rounds of cutbacks in the past week, and has eliminated the jobs of 38 aides this month, a figure that is nearly the size of former President Donald J. Trump’s entire 2024 campaign staff. Politico first reported on the latest reduction.
The Florida governor has struggled to gain traction in his early months as a candidate running against Mr. Trump, losing ground in the polls as allies and donors have raised questions about the long-term strength of his candidacy.
Those questions came to a head after the first public glimpse of his campaign’s finances this month. It showed that Mr. DeSantis’s payroll was roughly double the size of Mr. Trump’s and that the governor was burning through 40 percent of the $20 million he had raised from April through June. His heavy use of private planes and his decision to hold some donor events at luxury venues, including a Utah donor retreat last weekend, drew added scrutiny.
Mr. DeSantis entered July with just $9 million to spend on the primary race from his initial haul. A significant portion came from donors who gave the maximum amount possible, meaning they cannot contribute again.
The cutting of payroll is seen internally as a recognition not just that spending must be reined in but also that fund-raising is expected to be harder in the coming months. Many bigger donors are now spooked by Mr. DeSantis’s sliding poll numbers and may be less inclined to risk getting on the wrong side of Mr. Trump than they were a few months ago, when Mr. DeSantis looked more competitive.
One DeSantis donor, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to be candid, said that he expected the next quarter of fund-raising to be an extremely tough slog and that donor interest in Mr. DeSantis has dried up considerably.
In a statement, Mr. DeSantis’s campaign manager, Generra Peck, said the changes followed “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,” she said.
On Tuesday, Mr. DeSantis was on a three-stop fund-raising swing through Tennessee when his four-car motorcade had a pileup after traffic suddenly slowed. One campaign aide was lightly injured, but the governor was unharmed.
The payroll reduction came on the heels of a donor retreat in Park City, Utah, where Mr. DeSantis convened some of his top supporters. His campaign officials and super PAC advisers made presentations about the state of the race.
Two people at the donor event said that despite the fact that the alarming campaign filing had dominated coverage of Mr. DeSantis heading into the weekend, there was very little talk of it by campaign officials in formal sessions. Instead, they focused on the notion that they were steadying the ship, making adjustments and trying to find ways to help Mr. DeSantis spread his message.
Ms. Peck’s leadership was a focus of some of the donors in private conversations among themselves, according to people familiar with the discussions. But the weekend ended with Ms. Peck, who has made herself indispensable to both Mr. DeSantis and his wife, Casey, still in charge.
www.nytimes.com