Florida Governor Ron DeSantis just replaced his campaign manager Generra Peck, adding to the list of recent shakeups to his presidential campaign. Amid efforts to make up for stalled progress in the polls, the campaign will now be managed by James Uthmeier, one of DeSantis’ most trusted and conservative advisers.
Peck, who will remain as a chief strategist for the campaign, was instrumental in DeSantis’ landslide 2022 re-election victory but faced criticism once the Governor’s presidential bid was underway.
As Valuetainment reported last month, the DeSantis campaign announced a major downsizing that cut a full third of its staffers. The cuts eliminated 38 jobs in total, including 10 event planning positions and several senior advisory roles, with the goal of eliminating expensive bloat and narrowing the campaign’s focus.
At the time, campaign leadership insisted that Peck’s job was safe—but with the new “insurgent” strategy still struggling to be reflected in the polls, it was clear that additional steps needed to be taken. DeSantis’ Chief of Staff, James Uthmeier, was brought in to assess the campaign’s lingering issues, eventually leading the Governor to appoint him as the new manager.
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Preparing for his new role, Uthmeier expressed a positive outlook on the future of the campaign. “People have written Governor DeSantis’s obituary many times,” Uthmeier told The Messenger. “From his race against establishment primary candidate Adam Putnam, to his victory over legacy media-favored candidate Andrew Gillum [in 2018], to his twenty-point win over Charlie Crist [in 2022], Governor DeSantis has proven that he knows how to win. He’s breaking records on fundraising and has a supporting super PAC with $100 million in the bank and an incredible ground game. Get ready.”
Generra Peck is similarly hopeful, promising to continue helping the campaign in her advisory position. “Governor DeSantis is running one of the most aggressive early state campaigns in modern history,” Peck said. “Our organization welcomes the best of the best and James is one of my closest colleagues and friends — we are better for his joining and providing day-to-day leadership. This team is built to last and built to win.”
In the latest episode of the PBD Podcast, Patrick Bet-David and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, one of DeSantis’ rivals in the GOP Primary, discussed the state of the Governor’s campaign and his upcoming debate with California Governor Gavin Newsom.
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