Gingrich Shakes Up Campaign, Cuts Staff
Newt Gingrich’s presidential campaign is scaling back, cutting one-third of its full-time staff and replacing his campaign manager as part of an effort to sustain itself, campaign spokesman R.C. Hammond told The Fix.
Gingrich has already replaced his top aide, Michael Krull, with Vince Haley, who had been deputy campaign manager and a policy advisor. In addition to the other staffing cuts, Gingrich will not travel as frequently to the remaining primary states and will instead focus on communicating with voters through the internet, videos and social media.
“We’re readying the campaign for the convention floor,” Hammond said, citing the campaign’s commitment to stay in the race until the end.
The news was first reported Tuesday by Politico’s Mike Allen.
The former House speaker has won just two states and is a distant third in the delegate count. His campaign has also seen a significant dropoff in fundraising and is strapped for cash. His recently filed campaign finance report, covering the period through the end of February, showed the candidate had more debt than cash.
“The money’s very tight, obviously,” Gingrich said during an appearance in Maryland on Tuesday. “We have the money to keep going.”
In addition, a super PAC supporting Gingrich that had received $16.5 million from casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and his family has largely run out of cash, with no indication that the Adelsons have continued to fund it.