Jul 25, 2023 - Politics & Policy

DeSantis campaign purges more staff in campaign reset

Erin Doherty

Republican presidential candidate Florida Governor Ron DeSantis delivers remarks at the 2023 Christians United for Israel summit on July 17, 2023 in Arlington, Virginia. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis delivers remarks on July 17 in Arlington, Virginia. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is cutting a third of his campaign staff as part of the reset on his 2024 presidential bid, a campaign spokesperson confirmed to Axios.

Why it matters: It's the latest shake-up from the DeSantis campaign as he has struggled to gain ground on former President Trump in the crowded Republican primary.

Driving the news: "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," DeSantis campaign manager Generra Peck said in a statement.

"Governor 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," Peck said.
The cuts include about 38 jobs across departments, per Politico, which first reported on the staffing changes.

The big picture: The campaign said it raised $20 million during the second quarter of this year, but they spent nearly 40% of that total.

DeSantis last week let go fewer than 10 members of his staff, Politico reported.
In another sign of his shifting campaign strategy, he also sat last week for an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper, his first cable news interview of the campaign outside of Fox News.

Go deeper: Conservative media's tone shift on Ron DeSantis

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DeSantis campaign purges more staff in campaign reset

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