Officials told CNN Wednesday that the campaign will cancel $3 million in reserved television advertising in Iowa and South Carolina and is preparing to spend its money deploying upwards of 60 campaign staffers from its Miami headquarters to the first four voting states -- Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. Bush's super PAC still plans a $3.6 million Iowa TV campaign between now and the caucuses on February 1, but Bush's reduced airtime will nevertheless raise questions about how hard he plans to compete in Iowa. Much of it will go towards increasing its staff presence in Iowa, where the campaign currently counts 11 paid staffers, in New Hampshire, where it has 20, South Carolina, where it has seven, and Nevada, where it has nine. For its TV presence, the campaign will find itself increasingly reliant on Right to Rise, the super PAC that has been airing tens of millions of dollars in advertisements on Bush’s behalf.
– Amid talk of a comeback, Jeb Bush's campaign has abruptly changed strategy—and some staffers at its Miami headquarters have had to go shopping for winter clothes. The Des Moines Register reports that the Bush campaign has canceled $3 million in TV ads in Iowa and South Carolina and is using the money to send dozens of staffers to those states and to New Hampshire and Nevada to contact voters directly. Sources tell Politico that campaign manager Danny Diaz told dozens of campaign workers in Florida that "damn near everybody"—including himself—would soon be leaving for early-voting states. Bush was at a campaign event in South Carolina on Wednesday night, and CNN reports that he downplayed the strategy change. "We have a super PAC that is advertising on television at a rate that is comparable to any other campaign, if not more," he said. "And we are reallocating our resources to voter contact and a ground game that will be second to none. It already is. Having the best organization on the ground is how you win." Bush's chief strategist tells the Register that far from giving up in Iowa, the candidate will now have "the largest paid ground operation in the first four states"—and will have more to spend on TV alternatives like digital ads and ads on conservative radio shows. The Register notes that since the pro-Bush super PAC Right to Rise has booked $3.9 million in ads in Iowa alone, Iowans will still be seeing plenty of Jeb ads.