What’s Happening:

Political campaigns often start, stumble, regroup, and move on. Not all end well but few fall apart early in a primary race. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is one GOP hopeful who has already reworked his campaign team.

Questions are swirling whether this is a strategic repositioning of his campaign or a last-ditch effort to remain viable as the GOP race heats up. Recent polls show the governor struggling among voters and he has taken harsh action to correct course early in the campaign.

From Breitbart:

The DeSantis campaign has laid off dozens of staff members as it attempts to ease the concerns of donors and streamline operations due to Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R-FL) lackluster performance in the Republican primary race thus far.

DeSantis let go 38 staffers, according to Breitbart, and his campaign manager called the changes “aggressive steps” to “streamline operations” and get the governor back on track in the polls. Considering how news reports show DeSantis’ team at over 90 staffers, that’s a huge loss to people power in a presidential campaign.

Trump’s allies have questioned the strength of DeSantis’ campaign because of a lack of small-dollar donors. Trump’s supporters have called out DeSantis for catering to wealthy, one-time donors who tend to want something in return once a candidate is elected. By contrast, small-dollar donors can give many times in a campaign with the belief their candidate will work for them.

Without a significant small-donor class any political campaign can hit a wall when donations are needed for a lengthy, expensive presidential race.

Lack of small-dollar donors is bad because a campaign can burn cash quickly, Jack Posobiec, senior editor at Human Events, told Breitbart.

Posobiec pointed out that a small-donor base is needed to build out the infrastructure for a campaign.

Campaign news may not be good at this point for DeSantis, but his team is still operating and plans to push harder into key primary states that include Iowa, South Carolina, and New Hampshire with paid media and field work, according to Breitbart.

DeSantis may be struggling, but this race is far from over. His first campaign for Florida governor didn’t start well but he ended up winning. The difference in this presidential primary is that he doesn’t have his key supporter behind him but staring him in the face as his biggest opponent – Trump. DeSantis will need to get his team and strategy running smoothly to win this contest.

Key Takeaways:

• GOP presidential primary race is taking a toll on contenders.
• Recent polls show Ron DeSantis struggling with voters.
• DeSantis campaign makes drastic changes by cutting staff.

Source: Breitbart