Ron DeSantis Thinks a New Campaign Manager, and Not a Personality Transplant, Is His Ticket to the White House

Last week, a new poll revealed some devastating numbers for Ron DeSantis and anyone backing his campaign for the GOP nomination: he has almost no chance of beating former president and accused criminal Donald Trump. Among Republicans who described themselves as “very conservative,” 65% supported Trump to DeSantis’s 15%. Sixty-nine percent saw Trump as a “strong leader” to the 22% who said the same of the governor. In only slightly better figures, 28% said they think DeSantis can beat Joe Biden to the 58% who went for Trump. Fifty-four percent said Trump is “fun” while only 16% described DeSantis in such a manner. Among Republicans who believe Trump committed serious federal crimes, DeSantis still loses in a head-to-head match. Overall, Trump beat DeSantis by a whopping 37 points, 54 to 17.*

These stats came on the heels of the campaign being forced to lay off more than one third of its staff, the governor’s largest donor announcing that he will no longer be writing checks, and a spokesperson for DeSantis’s super PAC basically admitting the guy’s presidential prospects are in the gutter—all as his competition racks up one indictment after the next. All of which clearly suggests that something needs to change. Some people—like Robert Bigelow, the donor who closed his checkbook—think what needs to change are DeSantis’s extremist policies on things like abortion, which Bigelow cited in his decision to stop handing out cash, saying the governor “need[s] to shift to get to moderates,” and that “He’ll lose if he doesn’t.” Others would probably recommend DeSantis stop doing things like quintupling down on the idea that slavery had some silver linings, and saying stuff like “we’re going to start slitting throats” when talking about federal employees.

For his part, DeSantis has apparently indeed come to terms with the fact that his campaign strategy thus far has not been working—but not when it comes to his stance on a woman’s right to choose, or the alleged upsides to being human property, or talking about civil servants in violent, deranged terms. Instead, he thinks this is really just a personnel thing.

Per The Messenger:

In his third staff shakeup in less than a month, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis replaced his embattled presidential campaign manager with one of his most trusted, and most conservative, advisers: his gubernatorial office’s chief of staff, James Uthmeier. Outgoing campaign manager Generra Peck will remain as chief strategist on the campaign as part of the restructuring. Peck guided DeSantis’s blowout reelection bid last year, but she quickly became the subject of criticism from DeSantis advisers and donors in mid-July after his presidential campaign stalled and money dried up.

Joining Uthmeier as a deputy campaign manager will be David Polyansky, an experienced Iowa operative who boasts of never losing a Republican presidential primary in the first-in-the-nation caucus state. Polyansky is currently an adviser to the pro-DeSantis super PAC, Never Back Down. He spent extensive time with DeSantis this month on his repeat visits to the first-in-the-nation state, which is crucial to DeSantis’s chances against frontrunner Donald Trump. The campaign’s senior adviser and pollster, Ryan Tyson, will have an elevated role along with Marc Reichelderfer, a seasoned political operative and Tallahassee lobbyist who is currently advising the campaign.

According to The Messenger, Uthmeier is a member of the Federalist Society and “has had a key role in nearly every conservative and controversial policy that built the DeSantis brand with conservatives.” That includes leading DeSantis’s ban on local mask mandates and managing the strategy to nix Disney’s special district status for speaking out against the “Don’t Say Gay” law. The outlet notes that Uthmeier also “helped ensure that the ‘heartbeat bill’ 6-week abortion ban made it through the legislature.” Given that it was this legislation that caused Bigelow to announce he will not be underwriting DeSantis’s campaign unless the candidate moderates his positions, the move seems like an odd one!

In a statement to The Messenger, Uthmeier said, “People have written Governor DeSantis’s obituary many times. From his race against establishment primary candidate Adam Putnam, to his victory over legacy media-favored candidate Andrew Gillum [in 2018], to his twenty point win over Charlie Crist [in 2022], Governor DeSantis has proven that he knows how to win. He’s breaking records on fundraising and has a supporting super PAC with $100 million in the bank and an incredible ground game. Get ready.”

The front-runner for the 2024 GOP nomination