Many in Washington considered former Florida Gov. Jeb! Bush (R-Fla.) a shoe-in for the nomination, but fortunes have turned dramatically.
After the Des Moines Register/Bloomberg poll found that Jeb! was tied with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) for 5th place with just 5 percent, the former Florida governor’s campaign announced they were making serious cuts.
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Bloomberg reported that Jeb! was slashing campaign salaries by 40 percent to save more than a million dollars per month, though he did not fire any senior officials.
In addition to salaries, Jeb!’s campaign also cut 45 percent of their budget except on TV advertising and spending for voter contacts, such as phone calls and mailers.
Some junior-level staffers will be cut entirely, while some senior level staff will move to work on a volunteer basis.
Times have become desperate for Jeb!. Donations from the rank-and-file donors has almost entirely dried up and despite both his campaign and Super PAC spending more than $10 million on TV ads since September, his poll numbers have continued to plummet.
It may be that the Bush presidential dynasty might have come to an end.
