Ron DeSantis fired campaign Generra Peck on Tuesday, replacing her with longtime aide James Uthmeier.
Peck will stay on as the campaign’s chief strategist, The Messenger first reported. Uthmeier most recently served as DeSantis’ gubernatorial chief of staff. The campaign is also hiring David Polyansky from the pro-DeSantis super PAC Never Back Down, communications director Andrew Romeo said.
“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. 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,” Romeo said in a statement to the Daily Caller.
Third time’s the charm?
In what they say is his last campaign shakeup, DeSantis “reloads” his campaign, replacing manager Generra Peck with his chief of staff & chief political fixer, James Uthmeier.
DeSantis offered him the job after a weeklong review https://t.co/dZ4QkB1Bsy
— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) August 8, 2023
Peck ran DeSantis’s successful 2022 reelection bid, although she had no national campaign experience. Uthmeier has never run a campaign at either the state or national level. Polyansky served on the 2008 Mike Huckabee and 2012 Michele Bachmann presidential campaigns, and has since worked as a consultant. (RELATED: Harris Faulkner Asks DeSantis Straight Up Why His Campaign Is A ‘Mission Failure’)
The DeSantis campaign is currently attempting a reset, laying off staffers and putting the candidate in front of more mainstream media outlets. Since entering the race in late May, DeSantis has dropped 5.5 points in the FiveThirtyEight polling average, and former President Donald Trump’s lead over the governor has grown from 34 to 38 points.