DeSantis Campaign Shake-Up May Mean Less 'War on Woke'

Ron DeSantis' presidential campaign has undergone another major shake-up as the Florida governor has struggled to regain the momentum he showed at the start of the year.

And with it could be a new approach to the GOP candidate's campaign—particularly as he's struggled with the independent and moderate voters he will likely need to win the general election in November 2024. Among other things, the shift in strategy could mean less emphasis on culture issues and DeSantis' "war on woke."

On Tuesday, the governor replaced embattled campaign manager Generra Peck with his gubernatorial chief of staff, James Uthmeier. The move marked the third major shake-up in his campaign in less than a month.

Also joining the campaign leadership team is David Polyansky, a member of the DeSantis-affiliated political action committee Never Back Down. The Messenger describes him as an experienced Iowa operative who boasts of "never losing a Republican presidential primary in the first-in-the-nation caucus state."

DeSantis' team confirmed the news in a statement later in the day, noting that Peck would remain with the campaign as a top adviser.

"James Uthmeier has been one of Governor DeSantis' top advisors for years, and he is needed where it matters most: working hand in hand with Generra Peck and the rest of the team to put the governor in the best possible position to win this primary and defeat Joe Biden," DeSantis spokesman Andrew Romeo said in the statement.

He went on: "David Polyansky will also be a critical addition to the team given his presidential campaign experience in Iowa and work at Never Back Down. We are excited about these additions as we continue to spread the governor's message across the country. It's time to reverse our nation's decline and revive America's future."

Newsweek reached out to an official with Never Back Down via text message for comment.

To those who support DeSantis, the campaign's personnel shift was nothing unusual—just a routine retooling.

"It's not unusual for presidential campaigns to change leadership—both Reagan and Trump did this—and there have been noticeable improvements since this recalibration began a few weeks ago," Giancarlo Sopo, a Republican media strategist from Florida who previously led Donald Trump's Hispanic advertising and is now backing DeSantis, told Newsweek.

He continued: "We need leaders with high standards who are not afraid to make tough decisions when things don't go according to plan. One can only hope Governor DeSantis brings this same level of accountability to our bloated federal bureaucracy."

For some, the news of yet another shake-up in the DeSantis campaign was a reason to prognosticate. DeSantis is a candidate in free fall, struggling to gain a foothold against the GOP race's undisputed front-runner, Donald Trump. Meanwhile, other Republican hopefuls, like Vivek Ramaswamy, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott and even "Never Trump" candidate Chris Christie, have started to see movement in polls in early-voting states Iowa and New Hampshire.

Recent polling averages compiled by Real Clear Politics show DeSantis' share of the GOP electorate has fallen substantially since his decision to formally enter the race in June. Recent media stories about the campaign's strong fundraising have been undermined by allegations of overspending on luxuries like private jet flights and general mismanagement.

Trump's lead over the rest of the electorate, meanwhile, has continued to climb, despite facing nearly 80 criminal charges, in multiple jurisdictions, ranging from falsifying business records and mishandling classified documents to obstruction of justice.

In recent weeks, DeSantis has shown signs of going on the attack. In an interview over the weekend, he said for the first time that Trump had lost the 2020 election, breaking with a large number of Republican voters who continue to believe the election was "stolen" from the former president. And in campaign speeches and comments to the press, the governor has shown a willingness to criticize the president's legacy and performance while making the case that he would be a more viable challenger to President Joe Biden in 2024.

Uthmeier, a close confidante of the governor, could be just the campaign manager DeSantis needs to make that next step.

"Uthmeier is a longtime DeSantis confidante and is seen as a more aggressive and attack-minded campaigner," Craig Agranoff, a Florida-based political consultant, told Newsweek. "This could be a sign that DeSantis is willing to take on Trump more directly in the presidential race."

To others, including the Trump campaign, news of yet another shake-up in the campaign was a sign that the campaign is beginning to falter under the burden of a flawed and unpopular candidate.

A recent New York Times/Siena College poll found DeSantis' favorability ratings have fallen lower than those for the famously divisive Trump. And polling by the Public Religion and Research Institute in late July found both men remain less popular with the American public than Biden, whose approval ratings have often ranked among the worst reported by a president in the modern polling era.

Meanwhile, DeSantis' inner circle has been roiled by unrest. Under Peck's leadership, the governor's campaign saw two cuts to its budget, the loss of dozens of staffers and a retooling of DeSantis' press strategy to begin courting the mainstream press attention he once sought to avoid.

In Florida, the governor has faced a series of political crises, including the collapse of his state's insurance market, an ongoing legal battle with Disney over its opposition to the state's controversial "Don't Say Gay" law and a headline-grabbing ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy that could potentially cost him the support of top donor Robert Bigelow. In an interview earlier this week, Bigelow told Reuters that extremism "isn't going to get you elected."

And in polling, data has shown the culture warrior brand that DeSantis has built his campaign on has begun to falter among Republican voters. According to the New York Times poll, just 24 percent of national Republican voters said they would support a candidate "who focuses on defeating radical 'woke' ideology in our schools, media and culture" over a candidate "who focuses on restoring law and order in our streets and at the border." Sixty-five percent said they would support the "law and order" candidate.

Agranoff said the recent moves could be an attempt to right the ship. In recent weeks, the DeSantis campaign has put a renewed focus on policy, with a new platform outlining his economic plan as president, and he has shown a willingness to attack Trump. But the movies could also begin a shift to try to tailor his message to a broader audience since his effort to outflank Trump to the right has alienated the middle-of-the-road voters that will be essential for him to win in November 2024.

It's a necessary strategy: DeSantis was once shown in polling as the more viable GOP candidate against Biden in the general election. But polling from Morning Consult released Sunday now shows the governor running 5 points behind Biden in a hypothetical general election matchup, while Trump is essentially tied.

"He may be trying to appeal to a broader electorate," Agranoff said. "The polls showing that people are tiring of the war on woke suggest that DeSantis' current message is not resonating with everyone. He may need to moderate his message in order to appeal to more independent and moderate voters."