New York Times says DeSantis campaign has entered the ‘hospice care’ phase of inevitable death

The outlet reported that longtime DeSantis pollster and close advisor Ryan Tyson has privately revealed that the campaign is in the end stages. "Ryan Tyson, Mr. DeSantis's longtime pollster and one of his closest advisers, has privately said to multiple people that they are not at the point in the campaign where they need to 'make the patient comfortable,' a phrase evoking hospice care. Others have spoke of a coming period of reputation management, both for the governor and themselves, after a slow-motion implosion of the relationship between the campaign and an allied super PAC left even his most ardent supporters drained and demoralized."

Another anonymous insider told the Times, "You’re running against a former president, you’re going to have to be perfect and to get lucky.” They added, "We’ve been unlucky and been far from perfect.”

Communication director for the DeSantis Campaign Andrew Romeo took issue with the use of anonymous reports from the media and provided a statement from Tyson to the Times in which he denied making the hospice reference about the Governor. "Different day, same media hit job based on unnamed sources with agendas,” Romeo said.

"While the media tried to proclaim this campaign dead back in August, Ron DeSantis fought back and enters the home stretch in Iowa as the hardest working candidate with the most robust ground game," he added. "DeSantis has been underestimated in every race he’s ever run and always proved the doubters wrong. We are confident he will defy the odds once again on Jan. 15.”

Since his campaign was launched in the spring DeSantis' poll numbers have been in steady decline. They started above 30 percent, while a new Echelon Insights poll shows DeSantis slipping into third place behind Nikki Haley. It shows DeSantis receiving 9 percent of support, Haley with 10 percent, and both well behind former President Trump who has garnered the support of 70 percent of GOP voters.

The Times points to a statement DeSantis made to the Christian Broadcasting Network as a sign he "has begun to look back at what might have been." In the interview, the Florida governor said, "If I could have one thing change, I wish Trump hadn’t been indicted on any of this stuff."

"It's sucked a lot of oxygen," he added.

Last week, key strategist Jeff Roe stepped down from DeSantis' Never Back Down super PAC. Roe's exit followed Chris Jankowski stepping down as the PAC's CEO along with the firing of three officials from Roe's firm.