Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has had a difficult time throughout the 2024 presidential race, having lost lots of money while failing to even pose a threat to former President Donald Trump, the GOP frontrunner. At the same time, the Florida governor must now deal with the CEO of his largest super Political Action Committee (PAC), Never Back Down, resigning.
BREAKING: DeSantis ’Never Back Down’ Super PAC CEO Resigns in another sign that the campaign is coming off the wheels https://t.co/NjVUFjf45Hhttps://t.co/NjVUFjf45H
— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) November 23, 2023
The CEO’s resignation comes amid tensions between the super PAC and DeSantis allies, who created an outside group to run advertisements for the contender for the GOP nomination.
“Never Back Down’s main goal and sole focus has been to elect Gov. Ron DeSantis as President,” Chris Jankowski, the CEO, said in a statement. “Given the current environment, it has become untenable for me to deliver on the shared goal and that goes well beyond a difference of strategic opinion.”
During his gubernatorial reelection campaign, DeSantis received over $80 million from Never Back Down, which built a successful door-knocking program and even covered some expenses for the Florida governor’s private plane travels, per the Washington Post.
Never Back Down’s door-knocking program was extraordinarily helpful toward DeSantis’ campaign, having taken such a load off. When the Florida governor’s campaign was struggling, the super PAC was there to get it back on its feet.
Yet, relations between DeSantis’ campaign and Never Back Down haven’t always been sunshine and rainbows. The Washington Post reported that the super PAC, which is prohibited from discussing strategy, has consistently questioned and disagreed with some motions taken forth by the Florida governor’s campaign.
The CEO’s announcement came a day after NBC News reported that there was infighting over at Never Back Down concerning the creation of a Tallahassee-based super PAC called “Fight Right,” which was initiated by DeSantis allies.
“We’ve already seen tremendous value in the support of groups like Never Back Down, and adding new allies to the mix to independently help spread the Governor’s message will only strengthen our advantage in the important weeks and months ahead,” a spokesman for the DeSantis campaign, Andrew Romeo, said.
The chief operating officer of Never Back Down, Kristi Davison, is set to take over the position of CEO soon.
