Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was involved in a car accident on Tuesday morning in Chattanooga, Tennessee, as he was opening a campaign swing in the state.
The Republican presidential contender was traveling to a event in a four-vehicle motorcade when the incident occurred. He was not injured, reports say.
A campaign staffer was slightly injured,
Campaign press secretary Bryan Griffin confirmed the incident to The Associated Press.
“This morning, the governor was in a car accident while traveling to an event in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He and his team are uninjured. We appreciate the prayers and well wishes of the nation for his continued protection while on the campaign trail,” Griffin said in a statement.
The Chattanooga police department also released a statement on the incident.
“The motorcade came up on slow traffic and the lead vehicle had to brake quickly, which caused a rear-end collision involving the other vehicles. All the vehicles involved were government vehicles accompanying Governor DeSantis and his team to his scheduled event,” the department said.
DeSantis has campaign events scheduled in Middle and East Tennessee on Tuesday, the Chattanooga Times-Free Press reported on Monday.
The candidate has had a busy schedule as he tries to close the gap with frontrunner Donald Trump.
Last weekend, DeSantis spoke in Utah, where he picked up endorsements from several state legislative leaders.
Later this week, he’s scheduled to visit Iowa. He will speak at the state’s GOP Lincoln Day Dinner on Friday in Des Moines.
Meanwhile, reports later Tuesday indicated DeSantis has had to lay off about a third of his campaign staff.
The cuts will amount to 38 jobs, Politico reported, citing sources.
“Following a top-to-bottom review of our organization, we have taken additional, aggressive steps to streamline operations and put Ron DeSantis in the strongest position to win this primary and defeat Joe Biden,” DeSantis campaign manager Generra Peck told CNN. “Governor DeSantis is going to lead the Great American Comeback and we’re ready to hit the ground running as we head into an important month of the campaign.”
