DeSantis Team Downsizes & Focuses on South Carolina

By Sundance

There comes a time in every failing presidential campaign when the political consultants reorganize to take advantage of the smaller bucket of cash.  Team DeSantis is not trying to win in New Hampshire, they have decided to put all remaining resources into South Carolina.

Additionally, with DeSantis failing in the objective to win Iowa, it looks like the Christina Pushaw group of online influencers, herself included, have been dropped as a priority from the campaign strategy.

(Via New York Times) – […] As Mr. DeSantis’s team licked its wounds on Wednesday, his super PAC, Never Back Down, trimmed operations in several places, including Nevada. Other staff members were also laid off, including almost the entire online “war room” team, a person with knowledge of the matter said. Those who were cut had their email accounts immediately suspended. It was unclear how many people in all lost their jobs.

Mr. DeSantis also began moving a majority of his campaign staff — a separate group — to South Carolina to prepare for its Feb. 24 primary, according to a senior campaign official, who insisted on anonymity. And rather than campaign exclusively in New Hampshire this week, the final stretch before the primary election on Jan. 23, Mr. DeSantis will stump in South Carolina over the weekend, hoping that his conservative message will better align with primary voters.

His campaign on Wednesday framed the decision as a chance to deal a knockout blow to Ms. Haley.

“When Nikki Haley fails to win her home state, she’ll be finished and this will be a two-person race,” Andrew Romeo, a campaign spokesman, said in a statement. “We’re wasting no time in taking the fight directly to Haley on her home turf.”

But the move showed that Mr. DeSantis was all but giving up on competing in New Hampshire, where his poll numbers have been abysmal, trailing in the single digits far behind Mr. Trump and Ms. Haley. (read more)

The previous record for spending on a political campaign without benefit belonged to Jeb Bush.  I suspect when DeSantis fails in New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, he will take the title from Jeb.