Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is leading all 2024 candidates – Democrat and Republican alike – in direct campaign contributions for April, May and June.
Meanwhile, the Republican candidate is still struggling to pull ahead of Donald Trump in primary polls and, according to a new NBC News report, his campaign just fired roughly a dozen mid-level staffers to ‘cut costs.’
Campaign sources say they believe they hired too many staffers in early stages of the election cycle and despite some massive fundraising hauls, it’s time to cut back.
DeSantis showed some early signs that he could take on Trump for the nomination – including his massive fundraising haul during his first six weeks as an official candidate. But since then he has struggled to gain ground in polling against frontrunner Trump.
The Florida governor often balks mainstream media and slams the narrative of left-wing outlets. Despite this, Desantis will sit down for a rare interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper next Tuesday.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is leading the field of 2024 candidates in direct campaign contributions – bringing in $20.1 million in Q2 and pushing Joe Biden to second place and Donald Trump to third
DeSantis is first among both Republican and Democratic candidates in direct contributions for April, May and June
‘There are people within the media who are still seeking the truth; we will engage with them,’ DeSantis spokesman Bryan Griffin told the New York Post. ‘And we look forward to getting our message out there to the American people.’
In the second quarter of 2023, DeSantis brought in $20.1 million in direct contributions, according to receipts posted by the principal campaign committees for the candidate.
Democratic President Joe Biden comes in second place with 19.8 million.
When just considering direct contributions, Trump comes in third place behind DeSantis and Biden with $17.7 million.
The only other candidate that brought in more than $10 million in Q2 is billionaire North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum with $11.7 million.
There are 15 candidates so far running in the Republican primary for 2024. Only Trump and DeSantis are earning double digit support in national polls.
Biden is also facing some longshot challenges, including from Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who amassed $6.3 million in Q2. Marianne Williamson, who announced her candidacy in March, did not even bring in $1 million during the same time.
Fourth place fundraising for the Republican field goes to self-made biotech millionaire Vivek Ramaswamy for bringing in $7.7 million in direct contributions for Q2. Sen. Tim Scott is in fifth with $5.8 million and Nikki Haley next with $5.3 million.
Donald Trump brought in the third-highest amount of direct contributions for Q2 – falling behind DeSantis and President Joe Biden
Desantis’ campaign shake-up comes after the exits of David Abrams and Tucker Obenshain, who are veterans in the Florida governor’s political orbit.
Some say that the dozen who left after are the fault of campaign manager Generra Peck for bringing on too many people too early in the campaign. Peck also led DeSantis’ 2022 reelection bid for governor.
A GOP source told NBC News: ‘They never should have brought so many people on, the burn rate was way too high. People warned the campaign manager but she wanted to hear none of it.’
One donor said of Peck: ‘She should be [in the hot seat].’
They added that 20 percent turnout in polling isn’t enough to keep people motivated to support DeSantis.
