TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Governor’s campaign manager Ron DeSantis is facing the long knives amid a cash crunch and falling poll numbers.
Generra Peck, DeSantis’ top aide, is “hanging by a thread,” said a DeSantis donor close to the campaign.
Some allies have communicated themselves or through representatives that they want DeSantis to fire Peck or the “cape” — a less public demotion in which he would have to report to a new boss — according to two other DeSantis allies familiar with discussions about campaign fights.
“It’s the talk among donors and it extends beyond the first rung of the packager class. Rich people are losing trust fast,” said a DeSantis money packer. “It is time for that kind of change. It’s time for a shake-up at the top.”
The idea that DeSantis needs a reorganization is widespread among Republicans, according to conversations NBC News had with about a dozen strategists and donors, both affiliated with the campaign and not.
But a DeSantis-aligned Republican familiar directly with the governor and his wife’s thinking predicted Peck will stick around, at least for now.
“Governor DeSantis and Casey are very supportive of her. I wouldn’t say it will never happen, but right now your job is secure,” the DeSantis ally said.
Campaign spokesman Andrew Romeo responded to a request for comment on Peck’s condition and DeSantis’ level of confidence in her by criticizing the media.
“The media has tried to destroy the Ron Desantis campaign since day one because they are scared to death that he will defeat Joe Biden,” Romeo wrote. “The Governor has never flinched from false media narratives and he is not going to start now. We will not be deterred and we will win the nomination.”
Peck did not respond to a request for comment. Romeo refused to make it available for comment.
Over the weekend, DeSantis fired about a dozen lower-level advisers, and two senior advisers, Dave Abrams and Tucker Obenshain, left the campaign last week to work for an outside group that supported his candidacy.
At the same time, Phil Cox, former executive director of the Republican Governors Association and a longtime adviser to DeSantis, returned to the inner circle this month.
Peck, who guided DeSantis’ successful bid for a second term as governor last year, has no experience as a presidential campaign manager and oversaw a widely criticized launch that led some donors to halt money delivery to the operation and its super cap bro. Never back down.
The packer said some people raising money for DeSantis are in a “holding pattern” planning events, one of which has already been pushed back, so they can assess whether DeSantis is capable of turning his fortunes around. But it’s also because recruiting assistants has been a problem, the packer added.
Another donor, however, disputed that, citing a recent successful turn in the Midwest.
“It’s time for a change. You have a chance to reset, and now is the time,” said another DeSantis donor, who spoke of believing it was time for Peck to go.
The person said that one reboot is fine, while two is a “death spiral.”
On Saturday, the campaign revealed second-quarter fundraising figures that cast doubt on its solvency. While DeSantis raised $20.1 million in the second quarter of the year, in just six weeks as a candidate through June 30, nearly 70% of his money came from donors who can’t donate again. DeSantis had also spent around 40% of his cash.
He has also struggled to expand his fundraising footprint across the country. At least a third of his cash, $6.8 million, came from his home state, according to an NBC News analysis of DeSantis’ filing with the Federal Election Commission.
When campaign officials reviewed the spending, they found what one source described as excesses, including the number of people who sometimes accompany the DeSantis on trips.
This source, who has knowledge of the inner workings of the campaign, suggested that part of the overall problem, including the stagnation in polling numbers, was inexperience at the top of the campaign.
“There’s not enough gray hair in the room,” the source said. “They finally realized that.”
DeSantis’ stumbles could open up an opportunity for the rest of the field. So far, none of the other candidates have managed to build enough support to challenge him for the second spot he has held throughout the campaign.
However, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina has received a second look from some DeSantis supporters, as the campaign itself acknowledged in a confidential memo. He has begun inching toward third place in all Iowa polls in FiveThirtyEight Survey Database for the last month.
One question DeSantis will have to resolve if he makes a trade is whether it makes more sense to fire Peck or demote her.
“Some argue that he wants that headline, like when Trump started again,” said a DeSantis-aligned Republican consultant.
DeSantis has begun to adjust in recent days, as Republicans who want a nominee other than former President Donald Trump worry about his shaky start. In addition to the personnel changes, DeSantis is opening up to more media interviews that his campaign had avoided for most of the year. On Tuesday afternoon, he appeared on CNN.
Jason Miller, a senior adviser to Trump who has a wide lead over DeSantis, derided the governor’s effort to steer his campaign in a better direction.
“The real story here is that the DeSantis campaign doesn’t know how to turn things around with their current candidate,” Miller said in a statement sent to reporters.
Bob Grand, a donor who helped organize a DeSantis event in Indianapolis last week during a campaign swing in the Midwest, cast skepticism on unnamed sources and said he would officially testify with a very different point of view.
“It was very well received. People are excited. Then they sent me notes saying they were impressed,” Grand said. “A month and a half ago: If he is struggling so much, why is the Trump campaign attacking him every day? Why is he doing that if he is doing it so miserably? People are reacting positively to him.”
