Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida has replaced his presidential campaign manager in the latest effort at a course correction in a run that, despite its missteps, is the most formidable GOP challenge to former President Donald Trump.
In the third shakeup in recent weeks, Mr. DeSantis took the keys to the campaign away from Generra Peck, who led his successful gubernatorial campaign last year. He handed them over to James Uthmeier, a longtime ally who had been serving as Mr. DeSantis’ gubernatorial chief of staff. Ms. Peck will stay on as a top advisor.
“James Uthmeier has been one of Governor DeSantis’ top advisers for years and he is needed where it matters most: working hand in hand with Generra Peck and the rest of the team to put the governor in the best possible position to win this primary and defeat Joe Biden,” Andrew Romeo, the campaign’s communications director, said in a statement.
In another move, Republian operative David Polyansky is joining the campaign team. Mr. Polyansky, who worked on the early-state strategy at the pro-DeSantis Never Back Down super PAC, is a former chief of staff to Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and also advised the 2016 presidential campaign of former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.
The rearrangement of the deck chairs highlights the struggle Mr. DeSantis has had finding the right combination of personnel, strategy and message to move the needle against Mr. Trump and reassure donors that things are on track.
“I don’t know @GenerraPeck well, but I do know the job she was hired to do having done it myself,” said Mike Biundo, who served as a senior advisor to Mr. Trump’s 2016 campaign. “My sense is she is just collateral damage in a DeSantis campaign that has not gone as planned.”
It was another bump in the road for the DeSantis campaign.
Mr. DeSantis recently suffered some sparsely attended campaign events, including one in Tama, Iowa, that was captured in a photograph showing more empty green bleachers than people. The photo went viral online.
He also has been battered by reports of his big donors jumping ship. One of his major backers, Budget Suites of America founder Robert Bigelow, told Reuters last week that he will end financial support for the campaign if Mr. DeSantis doesn’t more aggressively go after moderate voters and prove that he can raise money on his own.
“I’m already too big a percentage,” Mr. Bigelow said of bankrolling the campaign. “A lot of his donors are still on the fence.”
In the past month, Mr. DeSantis has slid in the polls in Iowa from the 20s to about 17%. In the race for New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary, he went from the mid-20s to about 15%.
Some observers said the campaign shakeup was not necessarily a bad thing, pointing out that Mr. Trump changed his campaign leadership more than once before he captured the nomination in 2016.
Still, the staff overhaul on Team DeSantis provided more fodder for the governor’s critics and fed into lingering concerns that perhaps the problem is not the campaign but the candidate.
“SHAKEUP! Is this DeSanctimonious Reboot 4.0?” Trump advisor Jason Miller said on X, the social media site formerly called Twitter.
The DeSantis campaign was in the middle of a reboot that involved putting the biggest emphasis on smaller events so the governor will have the chance to meet voters on a more personal level. They also have made him more available to the news media.
As part of the reboot, Mr. DeSantis plans to visit all 99 counties in Iowa, which could make or break his presidential aspirations.
He is returning to Iowa this week for a series of events. He will be attending the iconic Iowa State Fair where he will sit down with Gov. Kim Reynolds for a one-on-one fireside chat.
Mr. DeSantis is not scheduled to speak at the soapbox sponsored by the Des Moines Register.
Mr. Trump reportedly plans to attend the fair but will not participate in any of the candidate events.
Mr. DeSantis is becoming more of a familiar face in the Hawkeye State. His visit this week will mark the fourth straight weekend he has been in Iowa.
The 44-year-old father of three was all the rage coming out of the 2022 election after winning reelection in a landslide, leading the party to gains up and down the ticket and passing a list of conservative legislation, including a ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.
That momentum, however, burned off quickly. Mr. Trump’s hold on the base of the Republican Party made it nearly impossible for his rivals to gain ground. Questions also lingered about Mr. DeSantis’ ability to connect with voters.
But compared to his non-Trump rivals, Mr. DeSantis has a lot going for him.
The DeSantis campaign had $12 million in the bank at the end of June and has five months to catch fire before the Iowa caucuses, which kick off the GOP nomination race.
Mr. Trump, meanwhile, has been burning through cash.
The pro-Trump Save America PAC has spent roughly $60 million on legal fees, according to news reports that have raised questions about his long-term cash flow.
The pro-DeSantis Never Back Down super PAC had close to $100 million in the bank at the end of June. The group is leading a massive door-knocking operation that his supporters are betting will pay off over the long haul.
The caucuses will be a key test of Mr. Trump’s political sway — specifically among evangelical Christian voters — and will go a long way in determining whether Mr. DeSantis or someone else can steal the spotlight.
Bob Vander Plaats, head of the influential Family Leader, a Christan conservative group, said there is an appetite in Iowa for turning the page from Mr. Trump. He pointed to a poll that showed half of the people backing Mr. Trump are looking for an alternative.
“There is an exhaustion level happening,” Mr. Vander Plaats said in an interview with conservative Iowa radio host Steve Deace. “If the caucus were held today, I don’t believe Trump wins. I think it is probably DeSantis who wins.”
“People want a vision for the future,” he said.
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