Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has decided to swap out his campaign manager, Generra Peck, after failing to dent former President Donald Trump's national lead in the 2024 Republican presidential primary.
Although some polls show DeSantis' focus on culture war issues has eaten into Trump's lead in Iowa, the 45th president has retained a sizable lead with likely GOP primary voters, even as many Republican insiders worry about Trump's electoral appeal in a general election. Although concerns have mounted that DeSantis' pivot to divisive social issues may cost him moderate and suburban voters that he'll need to defeat Joe Biden.
Despite grumbling from the GOP pundit class, the RealClearPolitics averages of polls show Joe Biden leading Trump by 0.9 percentage points and Biden leading DeSantis by 2 percentage points.
CNN further reports on Peck's sacking:
In her place, DeSantis will install James Uthmeier, the chief of staff for his gubernatorial office, a trusted adviser known in Florida as a ruthless enforcer of DeSantis' agenda and devoted protector of the Republican's political brand.
DeSantis' campaign confirmed the change in leadership, first reported byย The Messenger, on Tuesday.
โJames 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,โ DeSantis spokesman Andrew Romeo said in a statement.
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