DeSantis super PAC drama distracts from primary race against Trump

As Ron DeSantis is struggling to take out former President Donald Trump as the GOP front-runner, he’s saddled with headlines about the disarray at the major super PAC backing him with three senior staffers departing.

Never Back Down fired its CEO Kristin Davison on Saturday, less than nine days after she took over for former CEO Chris Jankowski, a source confirmed to the Washington Examiner. Erin Perrine, former communications director for the group, and Matthew Palmisano, its former director of operations, were also allegedly fired over the weekend.

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It’s the latest sign of internal dysfunction for Never Back Down, which had taken on unprecedented efforts to boost DeSantis’s campaign and once touted a $200 million war chest to defeat his 2024 rivals. On Friday, former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt resigned as board chairman.

The drama is unfolding with a little over 40 days until next year’s Iowa caucuses that DeSantis has banked on winning with the help of the much-touted ground operation of the super PAC.

Scott Wagner now serves as board chairman and interim CEO of Never Back Down, the group’s national press secretary confirmed to the Washington Examiner in a statement in which he championed DeSantis’s campaign. “Never Back Down has the most organized, advanced caucus operation of anyone in the 2024 primary field, and we look forward to continuing that great work to help elect Gov. DeSantis the next President of the United States,” press secretary Dave Vasquez said.

GOP strategists told the Washington Examiner the internal problems with Never Back Down are a distraction for DeSantis who will face his rivals on the debate stage Wednesday night and recently finished his tour of all of Iowa’s counties on Saturday. The Florida governor has made winning the Jan. 15 Iowa caucuses central to his race against Trump. But with falling poll numbers, a surging campaign from former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, and now new internal problems with his affiliated super PAC, time is nearly running out for DeSantis.

“I think the question was, could they make it to Florida when the primary began, and now they’re at a point where the question is, are they going to make it to Iowa?” said Ford O’Connell, a Republican strategist based in Florida. “With Never Back Down they’ve had a lot of turnover. What is that, three people now in two weeks? That’s almost like a Latin American government.”

Wayne King, president of Old North Strategies and a former chief of staff to former North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows, said the super PAC departures made DeSantis’s campaign look unstable. “There’s no question that this many staff problems is a problem for the campaign. And any time you have this many staff problems, there’s obviously reasons behind that,” King said.

DeSantis and other presidential hopefuls consistently trail Trump by double-digits in both national and state polls. A RealClearPolitics poll average shows Trump at 61.1% support, DeSantis at 13.3%, Haley at 10.2%, and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy at 5%.

An Iowa State University/Civiqs poll of likely GOP caucusgoers last month showed Trump dominating his peers at 54%, with DeSantis at 18%, Haley at 12%, and Ramaswamy at 6%.

The Florida governor’s campaign and allies pushed back against the notion that Never Back Down’s woes signal problems for DeSantis. “The collective firepower of Team DeSantis remains unmatched. As the last three Iowa Caucus winners have shown, it takes a combination of hard work, air support, and grassroots organizing to win,” deputy campaign manager David Polyansky said in a statement. “Never Back Down boasts an impressive field operation and ground game. Working alongside their independent efforts, we all celebrated hitting our 99th Iowa County this weekend and will carry the support of the most robust turnout operation in modern Iowa history into success on January 15.”

A senior campaign official told the Washington Examiner the super PAC’s problems are insignificant to the everyday Iowa voter. “This means nothing. The termination of operatives that not a single Iowan can name isn’t relevant to our historic ground game and momentum in the state,” the official said. “The media might care, but voters don’t.”

Amid the Never Back Down saga, Fight Right emerged as the second super PAC aiding DeSantis’s campaign. In a memo sent out last week, campaign manager Jason Uthmeier sought to praise Never Back Down while also welcoming Fight Right’s help.

“Without question, NBD’s robust organization is unrivaled in its ability to mobilize supporters and get out the vote,” Uthmeier wrote. “We also welcome the independent efforts of a newly established outside organization, Fight Right, a pro-DeSantis group that announced they will work closely with NBD and devote full attention to fighting for Ron DeSantis through powerful TV advertising.”

DeSantis was scheduled to attend a New Hampshire bus tour with Never Back Down in Laconia on Monday, a sign that he isn’t abandoning the super PAC.

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At Wednesday night’s debate in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, the Florida governor will have another chance in front of a national audience to persuade voters to back him during the Iowa caucuses.

“The only thing he can do really is have a good debate on Wednesday night and hopefully win Iowa,” O’Connell said. “Because if you don’t, you’re not going to get the infusion of cash [or] voter attention that you’re going to need to be successful in the Republican primary.”