WASHINGTON - Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign said on Tuesday that it had let go of 38 employees in recent weeks, or over one-third of the campaign’s staff, as the Florida governor seeks to cut spending and rally his flagging electoral fortunes.

Mr DeSantis, who is vying for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, is in second place in the large Republican field, but he remains far behind former president Donald Trump, the front runner.

“Following a top-to-bottom review of our organisation, we have taken additional, aggressive steps to streamline operations and put Ron DeSantis in the strongest position to win this primary and defeat Joe Biden,” Ms Generra Peck, Mr DeSantis’ campaign manager, said in a statement.

President Biden does not face a serious challenge for the Democratic nomination.

While Mr DeSantis’ campaign raised about US$20 million (S$26.5 million) in the second quarter, allies were concerned about how fast he burned through that cash. He spent about US$8 million during that period.

Most of the money came from donors who contributed the maximum legal amount to his campaign and cannot contribute further this election. That could pose financial difficulties for Mr DeSantis if he cannot increase the number of so-called “small dollar” donors in the near future.

The campaign had more than 90 paid staffers in the second quarter, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission, an unusually high number for this stage in a presidential campaign.

Mr DeSantis had cut roughly a dozen staffers earlier in July. The 38 that he has cut overall includes those staffers who were first eliminated. REUTERS