Ron DeSantis Struggles to Catch Up to Trump in Republican Primary, Seeks Media Strategy Reset
Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor and Republican presidential candidate, is facing challenges in his bid for the White House as he trails behind former President Donald Trump in the primary race. Sources tell ABC News that DeSantis’ team is already considering a reset of their media strategy, while some top donors express concerns about the trajectory of the campaign.
Although DeSantis entered the race in May with an impressive $20 million fundraising haul in the second quarter, he continues to lag behind Trump in national polls. FiveThirtyEight’s average of national polls reveals that DeSantis’ deficit has grown to nearly 30 points since joining the race, compared to single-digit figures in January.
As DeSantis struggles to make headway, his campaign is contemplating a shift in media strategy. Sources claim that the governor’s team is leaning towards engaging with mainstream network interviews and potentially participating in town halls. This move marks a significant departure from DeSantis’ previous approach of predominantly sticking to conservative media outlets such as Fox News.
The shift in strategy comes ahead of the first Republican primary debate in August, which presents DeSantis with a major opportunity to introduce himself to primary voters and chip away at Trump’s poll lead. The governor’s early struggles have raised doubts among some big-money donors about his viability as a candidate in the presence of Trump. Sources indicate that certain donors are considering withholding their financial support until 2028 or until Trump exits the presidential picture.
Hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin, who initially planned to support DeSantis’ White House run, is reportedly growing increasingly frustrated with the governor’s campaign. Griffin has privately expressed impatience and put his support for DeSantis on hold, according to insiders. However, other donors, including onetime Trump megadonor Hal Lambert, still view DeSantis as the candidate best equipped to take on the former president.
The DeSantis campaign has not yet commented on the possible media strategy shift or the concerns raised by some donors. Meanwhile, representatives for Griffin insisted that he is still assessing the field and denied that he had paused his support for DeSantis.
Amidst the challenges, DeSantis’ team remains hopeful that a strong performance in the upcoming debate and an increase in the polls will sway billionaire donors like Griffin back in their corner. DeSantis’ Super PAC, Never Back Down, highlighted the campaign’s fundraising success, emphasizing that $150 million has been raised to support DeSantis’ presidential bid. The PAC also touted their grassroots efforts, with supporters knocking on hundreds of thousands of doors nationwide.
While some top donors have started exploring other primary candidates, such as Chris Christie, Tim Scott, and Nikki Haley, supporters like Lambert remain confident in DeSantis’ prospects. Lambert believes that as DeSantis continues his campaign, the polling numbers will eventually turn in his favor, emphasizing that the governor is not solely focused on juicing poll numbers.