Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is set to implement “across-the-board” cuts to his campaign in an effort to keep his struggling presidential hopes alive.
According to Bloomberg, Bush and his team will be cutting back in most areas of the campaign, including payroll, which will include parting ways with various consultants, and the canceling of some fundraisers going forward. The moves will save more than $1 million per month, with payroll being slashed 40 percent.
The only item the campaign will not be cutting at this point is money stashed away for television ads and for creating voter contacts. The report also says that Bush’s advisiers came to the conclusion that a campaign reset was essential for its future viability, especially with sagging poll numbers and rising donor pressure.
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The campaign acknowledged to the Wasington Examiner that changes are imminent, with a special focus being placed on New Hampshire, the early state where Bush polls best. He is currently running third in the Granite State with 9 percent support, according to the latest RealClearPolitics average.
“We are making changes today to ensure Jeb is best positioned to win the nomination and general election,” said Bush spokeswoman Allie Brandenberger. “Jeb is the one candidate with a proven conservative record, bold ideas and the strong leadership needed to fix the problems America faces.”
“We are moving our resources into the states to ensure that voters in primary and caucus states are introduced to his record and vision for the future,” she added.
The report comes a little more than a week after the Bush campaign announced that it raised $13 million from July-September and has $10.3 million on hand. By contrast, the former Florida governor raised $11.4 million in his first two weeks of his campaign after announcing his candidacy in June, an average of $760,000 a day.
Bush is only sitting fifth in the GOP field according to the latest RCP national polling average with 7.2 percent backing. He is in sixth in the Washington Examiner power rankings. He has been in a war of words with front-runner Donald Trump over his brother George W. Bush’s legacy and the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The reported cutbacks come only five days before the third GOP debate, and 102 days before voting is set to start in Iowa.
