DeSantis looks to reset campaign amid signs of weakness

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is signaling a pivot in his campaign strategy amid growing concerns over his viability against former President Trump.

In one of the clearest indications yet that his campaign has hit choppy waters, DeSantis’s team confirmed last week they were shedding employees. That news followed a string of disappointing polls and critical headlines for the Florida governor.

Now, after weeks of pressure to reboot his media strategy, DeSantis is set to do an interview on CNN Tuesday with Jake Tapper, his first formal interview with a major news organization other than Fox News.

“When you look at some of the metrics of success, what matters is the trend line,” said Kevin Madden, who worked on both of Sen. Mitt Romney’s (R-Utah) 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns, adding: “And I think right now, some of the trend lines on both the polling and the fundraising [for DeSantis] … there’s some warning signs there.” 

DeSantis is looking to regain momentum in the GOP presidential field after having been once touted as the best Republican to take on Trump. 

Recent polling has indicated the governor has lost traction in key early-voting states like New Hampshire and South Carolina. Meanwhile, some donors have reportedly started to shop around for a possible alternative, like Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.).

The latest blow to his image came over the weekend when DeSantis’s campaign confirmed that it had laid off some staffers. Recent federal campaign filings indicated that while the Florida Republican raised $20.1 million in the latest quarter of fundraising, his campaign was burning cash quickly — spending nearly $8 million that quarter.

Those filings also indicated that only 14 percent of his campaign contributions last quarter came from small-dollar donors, another cause for the campaign to worry. But in recent media appearances, DeSantis pushed back against the narrative of a struggling campaign and alleged news outlets have unfairly targeted him.

“I think, clearly, you see an effort to create these narratives. I think the good thing about it is Republican primary voters are very smart. They know where these corporate outlets stand on the political spectrum,” DeSantis told “MediaBuzz” host Howard Kurtz on Fox News Sunday. 

“And so the extent that they become convinced that the media does not want me to be the nominee above all else — that will in the long run absolutely help me,” he added.

A spokesman for the DeSantis campaign pointed The Hill to a press release Sunday that touted the fact that the Florida governor’s principal campaign had raised more than either Trump or President Biden. 

With its reported $20.1 million haul at the end of the second quarter, DeSantis’s principal campaign raised more than Trump’s, which reported raking in $17.7 million. Meanwhile, Biden’s principal campaign raised $19.8 million.

“Our campaign brought in more than the entire field — including a current and former president — because the enthusiasm for Ron DeSantis’ movement to restore sanity to our nation and lead our Great American Comeback is unprecedented,” DeSantis campaign manager Generra Peck said in a statement touting the numbers. 

But DeSantis’s decision to sit down with Tapper this Tuesday is nonetheless a sign that his campaign is shifting at least some of its strategy. The governor has long faced criticism for his tendency to only sit down with friendly, mostly right-wing media outlets.

“I think it’s a signal that they’re getting serious about branching out and delivering their message to a much broader audience,” Madden said.

But he cautioned that the interview alone won’t be enough.

“That has to be a sustained effort,” he said. “It can’t be one interview on one cable TV network at 4 p.m. … In order to sort of create awareness and stimulate demand and really generate enthusiasm … you’ve got to do three, four interviews a day, and it can’t be just on Sunday morning Fox interviews, it’s got to be everywhere.”

Several news outlets have reported that DeSantis is looking to widen his media reach and start doing interviews with more outlets while touting major policy rollouts. 

Republican strategist Justin Sayfie, who has donated to DeSantis, acknowledged that “part of the reason that he isn’t being treated very well by the national media is because he shunned them,” noting that the Florida governor will need to improve relationships with major news outlets. 

Sayfie argued the timing of the CNN interview is a canny choice for DeSantis, whom he said risked peaking too soon.

“I would not have advised him to have started doing this three or four or five months ago,” Sayfie said. “I think that there is a crescendo that will take place over the next six months and you want to peak at the right time,” he added.

Other Republicans argue it’s too early to write off DeSantis as the primary ramps up ahead of the first Republican presidential debate on Aug. 23 in Milwaukee. They also insist DeSantis’s small-donor numbers will grow the more he campaigns in places like Iowa and New Hampshire.

“It’s wise to tap into the large donor base, and he’s clearly been very successful [at] selling his message to large donors and [building] up a war chest,” said GOP strategist Alice Stewart.

“Now that the war chest is at an extremely impressive level and he is transitioning to the retail politics, that’s when he’s going to build the small-dollar donor base,” she added.

Still, while Republicans agree that expanding his media reach will benefit DeSantis, some question his move to sit down with Tapper given the high stakes the interview poses.

“I’m not sure that walking into Jake Tapper right off the bat is the best way to go,” said one Florida GOP operative, who dubbed it a “feast or famine” for the candidate. 

If DeSantis does well, the operative argued, “the Republican is gonna gain the attention of a lot of Republican voters. At the same time, if you don’t do well, it’s going to be a lot like a Twitter Spaces moment.”