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The
selection and other recent hires by DeSantis and Never Back Down
PAC, the main outside spending group supporting his likely run,
show the governor is moving full steam ahead although he has yet
to formally launch his bid.
Lauren Lofstrom, who served as finance director for Texas
Senator Ted Cruz during his 2016 presidential campaign, is
joining DeSantis' political operation and has begun meeting with
the governor's allies to discuss fundraising strategies, said
the sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Lofstrom did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A
spokesperson for DeSantis also did not respond to a request for
comment.
The hire comes as DeSantis' main rival, former President Donald
Trump, enjoys a bump in the polls.
Some 58% of Republican primary voters support Trump, according
to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Thursday, after he was
charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records by
prosecutors in New York City. That is up from 48% from the
Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Monday, prior to his arraignment.
DeSantis' support stood at 21% in the Thursday poll.
Others who have joined DeSantis' political operation include
Jason Johnson, who served as Cruz's chief strategist in 2016,
the sources said.
Several high-profile operatives supporting DeSantis are Cruz
alums. While the Texas senator ultimately lost to Trump, Cruz
won the pivotal state of Iowa and finished second in a crowded
field to the former president.
A third source said Roy Bailey, described in news reports as
Trump's former national finance committee co-chairman, was also
under consideration for a role. Bailey did not respond to a
request for comment.
(Reporting by Gram Slattery and Alexandra Ulmer; editing by Andy
Sullivan and Edwina Gibbs)
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