Ron DeSantis entered the 2024 presidential race with the largest campaign staff in the Republican field, nearly double the amount of the Trump campaign, and that strategy is already starting to backfire.
Despite out-raising Trump earlier in the year, the DeSantis campaign has reportedly burned through its coffers paying 92 staffers. With polling numbers in the toilet as the Florida governor fails to energize voters outside of his state, staffers are being let go. On top of that, DeSantis might be in the market for a new campaign manager as insiders turn on Gerrera Peck for the over-staffing blunder.
Via NBC News:
A Republican source familiar with the campaign’s thought process said: “They never should have brought so many people on. The burn rate was way too high. People warned the campaign manager, but she wanted to hear none of it.”
The donor said: “DeSantis stock isn’t rising. Twenty percent is not what people signed up for.”
The campaign firings arrive on the heels of a strained relationship with DeSantis and his donors who coughed up big checks at the start of his run. As he began to flail in the polls, DeSantis reportedly sent out a secret memo to assure his backers that he has everything under control and is focusing on early states like New Hampshire to build momentum.
However, those same backers are rapidly losing confidence. According to a recent report, DeSantis donors are not thrilled with his “petty” culture war stunts.
“People want to support Ron but don’t like this kind of stupid stuff,” a fundraiser told CNN. “There are people on his team who are trying to win petty wars that make Ron look stupid. If they get that taken care of and just let Ron and Casey be Ron and Casey, then they’ll be much better off.”
(Via NBC News)