Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) will return to Iowa this week amid efforts to counter donor concerns about his presidential campaign, particularly its strategy and spending.
But his campaign's new "Let Ron Be Ron" approach, previewed by his aides last week to reporters and during a donor retreat in Utah, has inherent risks as he tries to appeal to the Republican primary electorate in early voting states.
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If DeSantis can "rein in" his campaign's overhead costs, it would "obviously help a lot," according to Dan Schnur, the communications director of Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain's 2000 presidential bid.
"But the biggest challenge is not with the campaign structure, but the candidate," Schnur, the founder of the University of Southern California-Los Angeles Times state poll, told the Washington Examiner. "We'll see if DeSantis himself can reset — that’s what it’s going to take."
But more public engagement could also pose a problem for DeSantis as his campaign seeks to rely less on set speeches delivered from behind podiums and more on retail politics, with the governor being out-of-practice compared to the other candidates who have, for instance, held numerous town halls since they announced their own respective bids.
"Ron DeSantis’s campaign is failing so terribly that we have enough material to do yet another roundup of devastating coverage, even after their campaign 'reboot,'" the Democratic National Committee said Monday. "But as we’ve been saying, this is what you can expect from a bad candidate and even worse campaign as they light money on fire, prove how out of their depth they are, and stake out a campaign on an extreme, right-wing agenda."
DeSantis aides reportedly acknowledged to roughly 70 donors last weekend in Park City, Utah, that the campaign has spent too much money, including on private planes, since the governor launched his bid last May. DeSantis raised $20.1 million during 2023's second quarter, more than two-thirds from donors who cannot contribute any more to the governor during the primary season, and he used $7.9 million of it during the same time period. Major staffing shake-ups were reported on Tuesday, with up to a third of personnel being let go.
In response, DeSantis aides have promised a "leaner," "insurgent" campaign before the first debate next month in Milwaukee and the opening caucuses next January in Iowa as former President Donald Trump dominates DeSantis by an average of 33 percentage points in national polls, according to RealClearPolitics, despite high expectations regarding the governor's bid. Campaign manager Generra Peck and other top advisers told donors, who are concerned about DeSantis's inconsistent message as well, that money would be redirected toward organizing and that more of an emphasis would be placed on the governor's vision for the country moving forward. Peck is anticipated to keep her position, but Digital Director Ethan Eilon was promoted this week to deputy campaign manager.
To that end, the DeSantis campaign has underscored the governor's persuasion and get-out-the-vote work, including his decision to take part in a bus tour this week in Iowa put together by his super PAC, Never Back Down. The trip marks DeSantis's fourth visit to the state, with aides expressing pride in hosting 13 events. This week's stops in Chariton, Iowa, Osceola, Iowa, and Oskaloosa, Iowa, on Thursday before the Iowa Republican Party's Lincoln Day Dinner on Friday in Des Moines, Iowa, accumulate toward his aim of making it to all 99 counties in the Hawkeye State.
"The governor’s commitment to Iowa comes as Donald Trump has racked up a series of self-inflicted wounds in the state, like criticizing [Republican Iowa Gov.] Kim Reynolds and skipping the Family Leader event with Tucker Carlson," DeSantis campaign spokesman Andrew Romeo said. "Donald Trump gave us an opening in Iowa, and we’re taking it."
When asked for comment, the Trump campaign reiterated a comparison of DeSantis's relaunch to other reboots, including Dynasty, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and "even MacGyver."
"The real story here is that the DeSantis campaign doesn’t know how to turn things around with their current candidate," Trump campaign spokesman Jason Miller said.
DeSantis's reset started in earnest last week with an interview on CNN, his first sit down with a non-conservative news media outlet, though he has, for example, taken questions from NBC on the campaign trail. He is scheduled to speak this week with the likes of John Solomon and Megyn Kelly.
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"Case in point: They don’t actually want any Republican primary voters to see his CNN interview," Miller said. "DeSantis could have easily joined one of CNN’s high-profile, prime-time hosts and reached millions of new voters if he had something compelling to say, but with an unlikable candidate, no campaign message, and rapidly sinking poll numbers, the campaign is doing an afternoon hit that nobody will watch. That’s a tactic, not a new strategy, and it’s not going to change DeSantis's campaign nosedive."
In addition to announcing a range of policies, including his “Mission First” military white paper last week in South Carolina, the security presence surrounding DeSantis at his public events has decreased, permitting more voter (and reporter) interaction with the governor.