DeSantis staffers leaving campaign to help booster support for governor

Key staffers working on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) presidential team are exiting the campaign and shifting to assist a political nonprofit that will boost support for him, his campaign confirmed to The Hill on Friday.

Tucker Obenshain and Dave Abrams, two senior advisers for DeSantis’s presidential campaign, are leaving to assist the political outside group, the news of which was first reported by Politico. 

Politico noted that the campaign is adopting a “DeSantis is everywhere strategy” and the political nonprofit group is anticipated to help organize events for him in early presidential primary states. 

The move comes amid a slew of bad headlines for the Florida governor, who’s grappled with questions over lagging poll numbers and general viability. DeSantis has generally brushed off questions about his campaign performance and negative headlines, including during his travel in Iowa on Friday.

Asked if he believed the race was still between him and former President Trump, DeSantis said, “just watch, just watch.” He similarly shook off concerns about Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) amid reporting that some donors were considering shifting their interest to the South Carolina Republican. 

“I’m not worried about anything, man. We got a plan,” DeSantis replied.

“The more people hear and see Governor DeSantis and his forward-thinking vision to fix Joe Biden’s failures, the better our path to victory. Governor DeSantis will be appearing at events with dozens of organizations celebrating his policy and leadership. The ‘DeSantis is everywhere’ tour has begun,” DeSantis campaign spokesman Andrew Romeo said in a statement. 

The Florida governor has also largely blamed the media for reports that his campaign has stalled.

“The media does not want me to be the nominee. I think that’s very, very clear. Why? Because they know I will beat Biden,” DeSantis said earlier this month. “But, even more importantly, they know I will actually deliver on all these things.”