Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign is encountering enough turbulence that aides felt compelled to send out a “confidential” memo this week aimed at quieting concerns among donors.
DeSantis increasingly has been confronted by interviewers about his low poll numbers, and publicly has shrugged off the idea that his campaign is in trouble. Yet the need for the memo indicates that some DeSantis supporters are worried.
Here are three takeaways from the memo, which is labeled a “confidential friends and family update” that is “not for distribution” and was first obtained by NBC News.
Focus on early states
DeSantis has been building up operations in early states such as Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada.
The memo makes it clear that DeSantis is all in on these states right now, instead of broadening the campaign to the large group of states that vote on Super Tuesday.
“While Super Tuesday is critically important, we will not dedicate resources to Super Tuesday that slow our momentum in New Hampshire,” the memo states. “We expect to revisit this investment in the Fall.”
A campaign that is running strong in the early voting states might be tempted to devote resources to more states. The fact that the campaign is laser focused on the early states indicates DeSantis’ team feels there is a lot of work to do there, and that spending money on a national campaign is unwise.
Shots at Tim Scott
As DeSantis struggles, there has been reporting that some big donors are taking a deeper look at Sen. Tim Scott., R-S.C.
The memo shows that DeSantis’ campaign views Scott as a threat.
“While Tim Scott has earned a serious look at this stage, his bio is lacking the fight that our electorate is looking for in the next President,” the memo states. “We expect Tim Scott to receive appropriate scrutiny in the weeks ahead.”
Emphasis on bio
The section of the memo that deals with DeSantis’ message leads with his bio, arguing it hasn’t been fully explored by the campaign and will be a major focus going forward.
The memo notes that DeSantis didn’t sign up for a government pension while in Congress.
From USA TODAY:Stuck in neutral: Ron DeSantis is way behind Donald Trump. Here’s his comeback plan.
“This and many other examples have yet to even be explored and will likely be feature of his bio in the Fall,” the memo states.
DeSantis is a husband and father of young children who graduated from Yale University and Harvard Law School and served in the military. Whether the campaign can more successfully leverage his background and credentials remains to be seen.
