CNN
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Two veterans of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ political operation are leaving his presidential campaign to work with an outside group that will focus on boosting the Florida Republican’s run for the White House.
Those leaving are Dave Abrams, who previously led and later advised DeSantis’ communications team, and Tucker Obenshain, who has helped DeSantis’ fundraising efforts. Abrams and Obenshain are husband and wife.
His departure, which was reported for the first time Politician, comes as DeSantis has struggled to gain traction in the polls against former President Donald Trump. DeSantis didn’t see a bump in his support after joining the race, and his campaign has stalled in second place, comfortably ahead of the rest of the field but well behind Trump. Republican donors and operatives have publicly voiced concerns about his operation and encouraged a change in approach.
In a statement confirming the staff moves, DeSantis spokesman Andrew Romeo said, “The more people hear and see Governor DeSantis and his vision for the future to fix Joe Biden’s failures, the better our road will be to victory. Governor DeSantis will appear at events with dozens of organizations celebrating his politics and leadership. The ‘DeSantis is everywhere’ tour has begun.”
The roster change was closely guarded, as is typical of DeSantis, who keeps a tight circle and has switched rosters in the past without notice. As of Thursday, several people close to DeSantis’ political operation were unaware that Abrams and Obenshain were on the run.
A phone call to Abrams was not immediately returned.
The pair joined DeSantis as he sought to develop his political operation midway through his first term as governor. They took on important roles during his re-election bid last year, when DeSantis broke fundraising records en route to a 19-point victory.
It was not immediately clear the purpose of the outside organization the couple will now help, and the DeSantis campaign did not respond to further questions. DeSantis has already relied heavily on outside political groups, including a super PAC, Never Back Down, which has handled much of the campaign work, along with And to the Republic, a nonprofit that hosted many of the their book tour events.
