DeSantis campaign promises changes during 'reset' meeting with top donors as Trump extends lead

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DeSantis pushes back on the media narrative about his campaign underperforming

Gov. Ron DeSantis fired back at CNN host Jake Tapper when he asked about the perception that his campaign wasn't performing as well as it should.

Some of the top officials in Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' 2024 presidential campaign are telling top donors that a campaign "reset" is underway.

The officials acknowledged Sunday during a meeting with leading campaign contributors and bundlers that they spent too much money in the two months since DeSantis declared his candidacy for the White House, sources with knowledge of the gathering confirm to Fox News.

And they promised that more changes were ahead as DeSantis aims to rebound from what's characterized as a disappointing start to his campaign. 

News of the meeting, which took place in Utah at the upscale Stein Eriksen Lodge at the Deer Valley resort, was first reported by Politico.

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at an event on July 18, 2023, in West Columbia, South Carolina. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard, File)

Campaign officials, according to sources familiar with the meeting, acknowledged that money had been spent on unsuccessful operations and that Team DeSantis would run a leaner, "insurgent" type campaign going forward.

"Something needs to change and there needs to be a new ignition," a leading DeSantis donor told Fox News.

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Former President Donald Trump, who's the commanding front-runner in the GOP nomination race as he makes his third straight White House run, has expanded his large double-digit lead over DeSantis in many polls in the two months since the Florida governor launched his campaign.

(Fox Business)

And DeSantis' lead over the rest of the large field of 2024 Republican presidential candidates has shrunk since late spring

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DeSantis raised an impressive $20.1 million during the first six weeks of his campaign. But nearly half – $8.2 million – came in the first 24 hours after DeSantis declared his candidacy.

Gov. Ron DeSantis marches alongside supporters in the Wolfeboro Independence Day Parade in New Hampshire on July 4, 2023. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News Digital)

And peeking past the top lines, only a small percentage of the cash DeSantis raised came from donors contributing less than $200, with much of his fundraising coming from top-dollar donors, some of whom have now maxed out and are prevented by Federal Election Commission rules from giving further contributions to the governor. Trump, by comparison, saw the lion's share of his fundraising come from small-dollar, grassroots donations.

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DeSantis has also been burning through his campaign coffers at a quicker rate than Trump. The governor’s campaign spent $7.9 million in half the time that Trump’s team shelled out $9.1 million.