DeSantis campaign fires around a dozen staffers, campaign manager is reportedly in the ‘hot seat’

On Thursday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis fired almost a dozen staffers across several departments, and it is reported that more are expected as the campaign looks to reign in spending. 

According to NBC News, financial reports show that the campaign has more staff than any other Republican presidential candidate, with 92 people listed. 

Despite bringing in $20 million in the first six weeks of his campaign, DeSantis only has $12 million in the bank and most of his donors are ineligible to donate anymore because they gave the maximum legal amount. 

"They never should have brought so many people on, the burn rate was way too high," one source told NBC. "People warned the campaign manager but she wanted to hear none of it."

"DeSantis stock isn’t rising," they added. "Twenty percent is not what people signed up for."

DeSantis campaign spokesperson Andrew Romeo told the press, "Americans are rallying behind Ron DeSantis and his plan to reverse Joe Biden’s failures and restore sanity to our nation, and his momentum will only continue as voters see more of him in person, especially in Iowa." He continued, "Defeating Joe Biden and the $72 million behind him will require a nimble and candidate-driven campaign, and we are building a movement to go the distance." 

The Florida governor is reportedly flying out to Southhampton, New York, next week for a crisis meeting with some of his major donors. He is expected to tell donors he intends to "play the long game" against former President Donald Trump. 

DeSantis has continued to lose ground in the GOP primary race, with former President Trump polling 39 points ahead of the Flordia Governor. DeSantis is currently sitting at 17 percent with Vivek Ramaswamy sneaking up on him at 8 percent. 

A recent poll had him down by 20 points to Trump in his home state of Florida. In a survey of 315 likely GOP voters, Trump leads Desantis 50 to 30 percent.