Ron DeSantis campaign takes another big hit as big donors jump ship

Tallahassee, Florida - Governor Ron DeSantis is struggling to maintain his second place position in the Republican presidential primary, causing many of his campaign's biggest donors to back out of supporting him. Presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis is struggling to get ahead in the Republican presidential primaries, forcing many of his biggest donors to back out.

© WIN MCNAMEE / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP Are backers jumping ship from DeSantis' sinking campaign? According to Politico, 16 of the top 50 donors that have contributed to DeSantis' Never Back Down super PAC in the past have not done so this election cycle. Five of the donors that backed out are now supporting a different candidate for president, while five of those that are left are splitting their contributions with other campaigns. DeSantis was once considered the most promising rival to take on front-runner Donald Trump in the Republican primaries, but since he launched his campaign back in May, he has failed to close the gap, even continuing to sink in some polls. Earlier this week, a poll taken after Trump's most recent criminal indictment, his fourth of the year, has the former president at 52% over DeSantis' at 18%, marking Trump's biggest lead yet. Vivek Ramaswamy, who gained a boost in popularity for his performance at the recent GOP debate in Milwaukee, came in at 8%, a noticeable jump from his previous 1%.

DeSantis and his campaign have taken notice of Vivek's rise, and have made plans to fight back.