Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is continuing an organizational shakeup about a month by naming his longstanding chief of staff, James Uthmeier, as his new presidential campaign manager.
DeSantis' campaign manager from 2022 and the first three months of his presidential campaign, Generra Peck, has been fired. Although DeSantis has already fired some of his original campaign staff in an effort to save expenses, he is still behind Donald Trump in most public polls.
"Gov. DeSantis has to change the dynamics. That much is clear," DeSantis donor Dan Eberhart said regarding the major shift, as reported by NBC News. "This is a realignment rather than a reset because both folks were already senior advisers."
Peck's dismissal is only the most recent in a series of changes to DeSantis' campaign staff and strategy over the last several weeks.
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Latest Shakeup in DeSantis' Camp
Peck, whose departure was originally reported by The Messenger, will remain with the company as a senior consultant. After a less-than-stellar campaign start, NBC News reported that key DeSantis backers were calling for leadership changes.
DeSantis' chief of staff, Uthmeier, will take on the role of campaign manager at a pivotal time in the race. DeSantis's closest advisers regard the first debate, which will take place on August 23 in Milwaukee, as a golden opportunity for him to rebuild support and attempt to catch up to Trump.
Andrew Romeo, the campaign's communications director, stated, "James Uthmeier has been one of Governor DeSantis' top advisers 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."
He announced that David Polyansky, a veteran of the Iowa Republican Party, would be taking on the role of deputy campaign manager. DeSantis' chances of becoming the Republican nominee are critically dependent on his performance in Iowa, which is the first nominating contest in the country.
Uthmeier first came on board as DeSantis' chief of staff in September 2021, and he has been seen as more politically aligned with DeSantis than his first two chiefs of staff.
He is a member of the Federalist Society and has strong ties to the conservative legal community, owing to his law degree from Georgetown University. One operative close to DeSantis even said it was a good idea to get go of Peck, but they were skeptical that Utheimer would be the ideal successor because of his background in policy rather than campaigning.
