The Ron DeSantis amateur hour

Created
Sat, 25/03/2023 - 08:00
Updated
Sat, 25/03/2023 - 08:00
He’s supposed to be the pro He’s been cast in the wrong movie: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ book tour has hit a few road bumps. In the first staffing shakeup for what’s widely seen as a pre-presidential campaign, the DeSantis road show lost a critical wheel this week when the operation’s top event coordinator pulled out of its contract, sources familiar with the move told The Daily Beast. It’s the latest in a series of setbacks for DeSantis, as his platoon of supporters and outside financial backers pushes out a “soft-launch” campaign in the shadow of the party’s frontrunner, former President Donald Trump. But Republican observers say that from what they’ve seen, the operation appears to be “out over its skis.” “This is amateur hour,” a seasoned GOP presidential campaign strategist told The Daily Beast. On Wednesday, the spanking-new DeSantis-aligned “dark money” group “And to the Republic” (ATTR), which has been supporting the multi-state promotional junket, parted ways with advance firm Liberty Event Specialists, according to two people with knowledge of the arrangement. The sources told The Daily Beast that Liberty, not ATTR, abandoned the deal. The events firm, helmed by Republican operative John Hiller—a one-time Trump ally and former advance consultant for both of his campaigns—severed the contract in part out of concerns that the 501(c)(4) nonprofit would scapegoat them for tactical flubs on the tour, the sources said. According to one of the sources, Liberty “canceled the contract before the DeSantis orbit could try to spin a narrative that was incorrect,” which the second person confirmed. Hiller…