Ron DeSantis performs in Iowa on July 15th. Photo: Charlie Neubergall/AP. through cash and is struggling to cash in on Donald Trump less than two months after he announced his bid for the White House.
The presidential candidate was forced to lose about 10 employees as the money dry up and his campaign faltering due to poor public speaking and apparently confused strategy.
Florida's governor is now plotting a massive reset, starting with an unusual mainstream media blitz to appease supporters alarmed by his performance following his unsuccessful Twitter live broadcast in May.
The DeSantis campaign brought in an impressive $20. million in fundraising in the second quarter, surpassing the $17.7 million raised by Donald Trump.
The numbers show the 44-year-old governor saw a surge in fundraising after announcing his candidacy on May 24 president followed by a sharp fall as he struggled to gain momentum.
Donation Limits
The surge was mainly driven by donors with big pockets, more than two-thirds of whom had already reached their donation limit. Only 15% of the cash came from low-value donors.
Mr. Trump, by contrast, has built up a formidable grassroots donor base of his legions of supporters who can be relied upon to give repeatedly within a few months. ahead.
The financial disclosures follow a week in which Mr. DeSantis' campaign has been plagued by negative headlines, and he has seen his polling numbers trail even further behind Mr. Trump.
This week, a salaried campaigner who backed Mr. DeSantis' proposal after being caught on doorbell camera making obscene remarks about potential voters and joking about being high on the job.
The video showed a young man in wearing a t-shirt with the name of the governor and discussing the quarrel with the landlord on the phone with a friend.
He vulgarly suggested what he would say to the landlord before laughing and adding, “I' I'm a little stoned, so I don't care.”
Change in strategy
Mr. DeSantis' campaign team is planning a host of changes, including offering more politically oriented speeches about the economy and foreign policy.
< p>The Governor also plans to drastically change his media strategy by agreeing to interviews with CNN and other mainstream media outlets he previously avoided.
Mr. DeSantis will sit down with CNN anchor Jake Tapper Tuesday afternoon. “We're going to get into [media] more,” DeSantis told Fox News Sunday, adding that “we want to get involved.”
The biggest worry about DeSantis' campaign is the speed at which he burns cash.
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Nearly $8 million was spent on the campaign, leaving Mr. DeSantis with just $12 million.
This includes $3 million that cannot be spent before the general election if Mr. DeSantis becomes the Republican nominee.
This leaves Mr. DeSantis with significantly less cash than Mr. Trump, who has $22.5 million.
Potential running mateAnother Republican presidential candidate, Tim Scott, also has over $21 million to spend.
Mr Trump touted South Carolina Senator Mr Scott as a potential running mate during an interview Sunday.
“I think he's a very nice guy,” he told Fox News. “And Tim is very good. I mean, I could see Tim doing something with the administration.”
He added: “Actually, several [Republican candidates] called me not to ask permission, but as if in order to ask permission. to say they'd like to do it.”
The 77-year-old former president has almost 50% Republican support, according to poll aggregator FiveThirtyEight.
Despite dropping a few points over the past two weeks, Mr. DeSantis remains Mr. Trump's strongest challenger, with about 21% of Republican voters backing him in the primary.
Staff cuts
Mr.'s biggest spending DeSantis included $1.3 million in travel expenses, including private jet rentals.
More than $1 million was spent on staff salaries. The campaign has cut several employees due to lack of money.
A campaign spokesman said fewer than 10 employees were laid off, all of whom were involved in event planning.
“Winning over Joe Biden and The $72 million behind him will require a flexible and candidate-driven campaign, and we're building a movement to go further,” said Andrew Romeo, DeSantis campaign spokesman.
Mr. DeSantis still has significant resources behind his proposal. His Never Back Down super pack has made $130 million since its inception in March.
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