Florida Gubernatorial Candidate Charlie Crist’s Campaign manager Austin Durrer has left with less than three weeks to go, citing a “family matter.”
Durrer, a veteran staffer and campaign manager, is leaving even as Florida voters are already submitting vote-by-mail ballots. Sydney Throop, who assisted with Crist’s previous failed congressional runs and has been involved with the day-to-day operations for his gubernatorial bid, is taking over.
According to Florida Politics, campaign spokeswoman Samantha Ramirez insisted Durrer’s departure had nothing to do with the state of the race, despite negative polling numbers.
“Austin Durrer has departed the campaign to focus on a family matter.”
But that didn’t stop some Floridians from throwing out their own theories.
This is the campaign manager saying going all in on abortion is dumb and Crist deferring to DC strategists.
— Federalist Muskrat 🇺🇸 (@Muskrat__) October 20, 2022
Charlie Crist’s campaign manager when he saw the last internal poll https://t.co/V9PoQ4CpRW pic.twitter.com/MaovJ8DiRe
— Matt Carpenter (@MattCarp1988AD) October 20, 2022
Funny of the day. If it's not funny enough that Charlie Crist thinks he's going to beat DeSantis, his own campaign manager quit with 3 weeks to go!! There's your sign!!
— Z! Deb ~~My Story Isn't Finished 2022 (@LearnUSAhistory) October 20, 2022
I mean let’s be honest it’s like being Kapernick’s agent. You know he’s done and you’re trying to save face.
— Ghost of The Karen Hunter 🇺🇸 (@GhostofTheKare1) October 20, 2022
Video just in of Crist campaign manager in today’s status meeting. pic.twitter.com/K1BD9F4ttT
— BearFlagFan (@BearFlagFan) October 20, 2022
While polling data for Democrats nationwide were improving in August and September, there has been a jarring snap back to reality throughout October, and that’s not true for anyone more than Charlie Crist. DeSantis not only dwarfs Crist in spending, but he’s currently 7 points behind the Republican governor according to FiveThirtyEight Polling, while the RelClear Politics Average puts the gap as wide as 7.8%.
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Brad Coker of Mason Dixon Polling points to Hurricane Ian limiting Crist’s options in attacking DeSantis.
“The disadvantage Crist has is two-fold: he’s completely out of the news and he never managed a hurricane so he can’t stand up and point to what he did. So Crist is totally, totally defanged.”
While vitriol towards DeSantis is inevitable, the national media has been relatively quiet on DeSantis, adding credence to the idea that there’s simply not much to attack.
Charlie Crist: loses campaign manager when election is happening in three weeks
Ron DeSantis: cut the red tape in Sanibel to repair the Causeway in three weeks
— Michael Mella 🐊 (@pico87mn) October 20, 2022
Durrer’s departure so late is very much up for interpretation. While leaving so late seems to bode well on the surface, it’s also unlikely to have a severe impact because there is very little time for anything to change. Never mind changing enough to overcome DeSantis’ lead in the polls.
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