9 months ago
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' 18-state campaign strategy has run up against a wall that almost any veteran presidential campaign manager could have forecasted: a cash crunch.
Trying to build out infrastructure across a broad swath of well over a dozen states is proving unsustainable for the DeSantis campaign, despite posting strong second-quarter fundraising of $20 million after just six weeks in the race. But as the Associated Press noted, the campaign also burned through nearly half of the money—$8 million—in the same time period.
At the same time, the DeSantis camp appears to be cluing in to the fact that if their candidate doesn't have a strong showing in Iowa, either placing first or a very close second, he'll be toast.
The DeSantis strategy had been to outlast other candidates—something along the lines of posting good showings in the first four states that would weaken Trump, hopefully make it a two-person race, and then turn in a strong showing on Super Tuesday, when roughly 14 contests will be held.
But as DeSantis has lost altitude nationally among both voters and high-dollar donors, Iowa has taken on greater importance. Last week, his campaign cut 10 staffers and redoubled its efforts in the Hawkeye State.
"His momentum will only continue as voters see more of him in person, especially in Iowa,” DeSantis spokesman Andrew Romeo explained. “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.”
Here's how that "candidate-driven" campaign is playing in Iowa.
