Jeb Bush's presidential aspirations were dealt a blow Friday when his campaign announced 40 percent reduction in payroll expenses over the coming weeks.
The cuts were an effort to remain competitive in a race that has seen two competitors drop out in the past months and has not seen Bush top the polls since mid-July.
Bush's campaign spent near a fifth of its total operating expenses on payroll in the third quarter, according to a Big Crunch analysis of campaign filings with the Federal Elections Commission. That puts the one-time frontrunner above much of the Republican field in terms of payroll spend.