DeSantis is resetting his campaign again. Some Republicans worry his message is getting in the way

CORALVILLE, Iowa (AP) — Ron DeSantis largely dismissed his own decision to replace his campaign leadership team as he returned to Iowa in the midst of a weekslong reset. The Republican presidential hopeful also made no mention of the two rounds of campaign layoffs he made recently in response to unexpected fundraising troubles.Instead, the Florida governor on Thursday leaned into his central message — a self-described “war on woke” — and flashed a big smile as he courted an audience of roughly 200 cheering Republicans gathered at a family restaurant for the first of four scheduled stops on his latest bus tour through the first-in-the-nation caucus state.”We’re clicking. We’re doing well,” DeSantis told reporters after a fiery speech, dismissing questions about the turmoil that has plagued his White House bid in recent weeks. He said the average voter is far more focused on his plans for the country than his campaign leadership. “This process stuff, I think, is way overblown.”Whether DeSantis acknowledges his challenges or not, they have not gone away.Less than five months before the first votes are cast in Iowa’s opening presidential contest, a growing chorus of would-be supporters within his own party is questioning DeSantis’ core message and political instincts amid a prolonged effort to stabilize his campaign that has involved three significant personnel decisions so far — the two rounds of cuts and replacement of the campaign manager. At the same time, new signs of tension have emerged between DeSantis’ formal campaign and an allied super PAC that’s now planning to dramatically increase spending on paid advertising to help make up for DeSantis’ financial challenges.”It remains to be seen whether or not he can save his campaign. He’s not run a particularly effective one to date, obviously,” said Eric Levine, a New York-based Republican donor who has been calling for the GOP to unify behind an alternative to former President Donald Trump. “He needs to be able to speak to a broader range of issues than the culture wars. To me, that is fundamentally at the core of his problem.”That message still resonates with many Iowa Republicans, who frequently mention DeSantis as one of their top two or three picks heading into the caucus. But most successful campaigns require steady leadership and donors who are willing to stick out the tough moments — and that’s where DeSantis appears vulnerable.After cutting one-third of his staff last month, DeSantis this week replaced campaign manager Generra Peck with James Uthmeier, his chief of staff in the Florida governor’s office. Uthmeier, who has never managed a campaign, was a central figure in some of DeSantis’ most controversial moves as governor, including the decision to fly migrants from Texas to an island off the Massachusetts coast last year.As part of the leadership overhaul, DeSantis tapped veteran political operative David Polyansky, a senior adviser to his allied Never Back Down super PAC, to serve as deputy campaign manager. Some close to DeSantis’ operation believe that while Uthmeier has the campaign manager title and DeSantis’ trust, Polyansky will be effectively running the campaign given his extensive experience in presidential politics, especially in Iowa.While DeSantis shrugs off his challenges, his allies are aware that multiple rounds of staffing cuts and stagnant polling numbers are undermining the campaign’s central message that DeSantis is better positioned than Trump to defeat President Joe Biden next fall.Still, the DeSantis campaign tried to project optimism in a memo shared with campaign supporters and donors earlier in the week, which was obtained by The Associated Press.