Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and his affiliated super PAC are doubling down on efforts to defeat former President Donald Trump and become the GOP's next standard-bearer despite reports his campaign was forced to shed members of his 2024 team due to financial woes.
Trump has nevertheless remained a formidable opponent.
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The news over the weekend that his campaign let go of roughly a dozen staffers just two months after launching his presidential bid and that some donors have already maxed out the amount of money they can donate to DeSantis's campaign during the second quarter is reigniting questions about the governor's campaign viability.
Nevertheless, DeSantis's allies are adamant his campaign is credible. Never Back Down, the super PAC supporting DeSantis's 2024 ambition, aims to spend $200 million to boost DeSantis in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada, the early nominating states that will help winnow which candidates are truly credible in 2024.
“From day one, Never Back Down’s strategy has been to turn Gov. DeSantis’s grassroots energy into action and to help share his blue collar story, record as conservative fighter, and vision for America’s future," said the group's spokeswoman Jess Szymanski in a statement to the Washington Examiner. "We have built out a historic nationwide political and field operation in the first four and March primary states. We are light years ahead of every other candidate’s operation, with NBD political staff and infrastructure in these states and over 400 canvassers deployed nationwide who will have knocked 1 million doors by the end of this month."
His campaign has repeatedly reiterated they are focusing on why DeSantis is best positioned to defeat President Joe Biden next year.
“Americans are rallying behind Ron DeSantis and his plan to reverse Joe Biden's failures and restore sanity to our nation, and his momentum will only continue as voters see more of him in person, especially in Iowa," campaign spokesman Andrew Romeo said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. "Defeating Joe Biden and the $72 million behind him will require a nimble and candidate-driven campaign, and we are building a movement to go the distance.
Left unsaid in their comments is the unmentioned Trump, who leads all other Republican rivals in the presidential race according to national polls.
DeSantis's team hopes to convince enough voters in the early nominating states to abandon Trump and side with the governor, given that the first votes during the Iowa caucuses aren't until Jan. 15, 2024. "Early state voters are only softly committed to the candidates they select on a ballot question this far out — including many Trump supporters," a confidential campaign memo from last week noted. "Ron DeSantis is running a campaign to win everywhere. It would be a mistake to take a paid media and field program off the table in service of other states, we will not cede New Hampshire."
Matt Dole, a Republican political consultant based in Ohio, said the 2024 GOP race is unique compared to past cycles given Trump's status as the de facto leader of the Republican Party, which complicates fundraising for all other candidates but especially for DeSantis.
"The challenge is finding new donors who either want to go away from Trump — and there was a story this morning that suggested that there are donors who previously supported Donald Trump and are going elsewhere, so that's happening to some degree — or non-Trump donors, bringing new people into the fundraising fold," Dole told the Washington Examiner.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that nearly 5,000 donors who supported Trump in his past presidential bids have given $4 million to other Republican candidates this cycle, roughly half of which has gone to DeSantis. Yet second-quarter reports show DeSantis raised $20 million but has only $12 million on hand after spending $8 million. Of the $12 million on hand, only $9 million can be used during the primary; $3 million can only be used during the general election if he wins the nomination. Additionally, the majority of the funds raised in the second quarter came from large donations meaning that many won't be able to give to the DeSantis campaign for the rest of the cycle. Further complicating efforts is that the DeSantis campaign had 92 people on its payroll and spent $1 million on payroll or payroll processing fees during the second quarter.
"His major challenge is diversifying his fundraising, which he has to do," Dole said on DeSantis's second quarter. "He has to find a way to increase his small-dollar fundraising ... even as he continues to go after major new donors and peeling Trump supporters off of the former president's campaign."
Last week, DeSantis faced multiple reports that Republican megadonors and the Murdoch family may be souring on his ability to beat Trump during the GOP primary. Before that, he faced questions over declining poll numbers and the increasing number of Republicans continuing to launch presidential candidates.
Trump campaign officials Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles on Monday released a "State Of The Race—Questions You Should Be Raising" memo detailing reports of campaign donors considering backing other 2024 rivals, including former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC).
"If the campaign has not demonstrated sufficient enthusiasm to build a national fundraising base who is motivated to contribute, how can they effectively implement what they call a 'long slog strategy?' The answer is simple: They can't," the advisers wrote before listing a bevy of questions donors should raise with the DeSantis campaign about their finances.
"Of course, if I were you, I wouldn't hold my breath expecting any answers or accountability. Given the aforementioned points, if you still collectively pour millions of dollars into the failing Ron DeSantis campaign, you can't say you weren't warned," they continued.
Joseph Vargas, a veteran Texas GOP consultant, told the Washington Examiner voters who have faith in a candidate's abilities and messaging will put give money to fund a campaign. "Ron DeSantis' message is not resonating with Republican voters to the point where they are contributing to his campaign in droves," Vargas said. "It's very likely his marketing team is failing him. This could be by design or due to inexperience and being out of touch with the average American voter. Regardless, Ron DeSantis is still responsible for their failure."
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He recommends DeSantis's campaign create two task forces. "One team should study the Iowa and New Hampshire Republican voters and target them with one-two hot topic issues that resonate with them. This would help generate contributions to his campaign," he added. "The other team should focus on studying the concerns of the average Republican voter — not the establishment Republican — across the country."
However, veteran Republican strategist Frank Luntz said DeSantis's best strategy is to continue promoting ads that focus on protecting children and families, referencing the governor's wife, Casey DeSantis, and her recent "Mamas for DeSantis" ad. "It captures the zeitgeist of the Republican voter perfectly," Luntz said.