Ron DeSantis will be laying off one-third of his campaign staff in a major overhaul to his presidential bid—a far larger cutback than previously expected. The downsizing comes as a part of the Florida Governor’s effort to overcome stagnant polls and growing concerns from donors.
As Valuetainment reported last week, DeSantis’ campaign team confirmed they would be laying off some of their staff after disappointing polls and negative headlines came to the forefront of mainstream news for DeSantis. Once considered a strong contender against former President Donald Trump, DeSantis has seen his progress in the polls stall in recent weeks. With up-and-comer Vivek Ramaswamy closing in on his second-place position, his campaign is in desperate need of a change in strategy. However, while some cutbacks were expected, slashing a full third of his staff was a step few would have predicted.
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The cuts will eliminate 38 jobs in total, as first reported by Politico, including 10 newly-created event planning positions as well as several senior advisory roles.
“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,” campaign manager Generra Peck said. “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.”
DeSantis’ team managed to raise nearly $150 million in the early weeks of the campaign, but $130 million of that amount is tied up with affiliated PACs that, while supporting the Governor’s campaign, are legally unable to coordinate with him. The DeSantis campaign raised $20 million for itself but nearly $8 million has already been spent, including on paying the 90+ staffers it employs.
The downsizing will hopefully reduce expensive bloat and allow for renewed focus on the campaign, and many former staffers will begin working for outside pro-DeSantis groups.
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