Ron DeSantis is to alter his campaign strategy amid concerns it’s not strong enough to take down Donald Trump. The Floridian Governor’s team has shed members as spending records show the campaign hemorrhaging money while polls drop or remain stagnant. Governor DeSantis now appears to be spreading his media wings as he agreed to a sit-down conversation with CNN – the first interview with anyone besides Fox News.
Dan Eberhart, a Republican donor backing DeSantis, said he wants to see the Floridian repair his relationship with the mainstream media. “I certainly understand the temptation to stick to conservative outlets, but he needs to broaden his message so he can pull more people into his tent,” he said.
DeSantis spoke with CNN’s Jack Tapper and brushed aside claims that his campaign has not caught fire. He said he comes under a great deal of criticism, and people said he would fail as Governor of Florida, but he proved them wrong.
When asked about Donald Trump, DeSantis said the former President’s legal woes are not good for the country and he hopes no further charges come his way.
Donald Trump remains the clear frontrunner in the race for the Republican nomination and is maintaining a double-digit lead over DeSantis. In response, the Floridian hosted a reception in Tallahassee to assure his donors that he intends to speak to mainstream media, scale back spending, and limit his focus to early-voting states. Polls last month, however, show his support dropping in the key early state of New Hampshire.
From January to March this year, Governor DeSantis was polling at around 28% in the Granite State, but by May, after spending time there, this was down to 16%. The situation is equally dire for DeSantis in Iowa. A recent poll in the Hawkeye State showed Trump at 51% and DeSantis trailing at just 19%. Commentator Kaivan Shroff said DeSantis’s popularity fell in Iowa after he’d personally met voters there.
