Is Gov. Ron DeSantis scaling back his presidential campaign?
The Florida Republican laid off a dozen staffers, according to a report from NBC News. Those layoffs made news after POLITICO reported two senior DeSantis advisors, Dave Abrams and Tucker Obenshain, had parted ways with the campaign.
Top officials with DeSantis’ campaign are expected to meet today in Tallahassee to discuss any potential reorganization and reset for his campaign.
That comes amid open grousing about the financial burn rate for the campaign following successful fundraising for both his presidential campaign and a supportive super PAC.
A filing made public Saturday through the Federal Election Commission verified DeSantis in his first quarter raised upward of $20.1 million. But that campaign also spent nearly $7.9 million of that before the end of June. That means the campaign at the start of this month had just over $12.2 million in cash on hand as he started stepping up campaign efforts and traveling to Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and other states.
Of note, FEC filings also show that while former President Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the GOP presidential nomination, boasted about raising $35 million in the quarter. That number combines $17.7 million for his official campaign and the rest in his leadership PAC Save America. The official campaign closed the quarter with $22.5 million in cash, a solid $10 million for the DeSantis.
The rapid spending hasn’t resulted in any reward in polls, where he still lad behind Trump badly.
DeSantis officials note Never Back Down, a super PAC supporting DeSantis’ White House run, also raised more than $130 million since it launched in March, though some $82.5 million of that came from a transfer from a state committee that backed DeSantis run for Governor last year.
But at least in theory, any coordination between Never Back Down and the DeSantis campaign is forbidden under federal law. The campaign itself must work independently with the money it has.
That’s especially concerning as many long-time supporters of DeSantis donated early to his presidential campaign and gave the maximum amount. That means $14 million in support comes from individuals who cannot give more — and $3 million of that can only be spent in the general election if DeSantis wins the GOP nomination.
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