DeSantis super PAC loses Chairman Adam Laxalt following CEO departure

The super PAC backing Gov. Ron DeSantis‘s (R-FL) presidential bid, Never Back Down, suffered a significant departure Friday, losing Chairman Adam Laxalt.

The former Republican senatorial candidate, who lost to Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) in 2022, informed the PAC’s board of his decision on Nov. 26 in a letter.

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Never Back Down confirmed his departure to the Washington Examiner.

In the letter, reviewed by the New York Times, Laxalt wrote, “After nearly 26 straight months of being in a full-scale campaign, I need to return my time and attention to my family and law practice.” Despite his leaving, he said he still supports DeSantis in the 2024 Republican primary.

Laxalt’s departure is the second high-level exit in just over a week from DeSantis’s super PAC. Last week, CEO Chris Jankowski resigned from his role. Jankowski reportedly said in a statement that he had significant differences with the PAC, which were “well beyond a difference of strategic opinion.” His resignation was effective immediately.

In a statement to the Washington Examiner, DeSantis deputy campaign manager David Polyansky argued the turnout operation for DeSantis in Iowa remains “the most robust.”

“The collective firepower of Team DeSantis remains unmatched,” Polyansky said after Laxalt’s exit. “As the last three Iowa Caucus winners have shown, it takes a combination of hard work, air support, and grassroots organizing to win. Never Back Down boasts an impressive field operation and ground game.”

The shake-up comes as Never Back Down and DeSantis’s campaign apparatus suffered from reported strategic differences and increased irritation with one another.

Then last month, a new pro-DeSantis group popped up and started reserving airtime for ads in Iowa. The group, called Fight Right, made more than $700,000 in media reservations in the early state, according to the New York Times.

Fight Right has since been embraced by the DeSantis campaign, which is understood to have been created by DeSantis allies in Florida.

In a fundraising memo to donors last week, campaign manager James Uthmeier noted Never Back Down’s “incredible field operation and ground game” in Iowa and added, “We have accepted many invitations to attend NBD events and look forward to seeing our campaign, their team, and many volunteers help Ron DeSantis bring home a victory on Caucus Night.”

However, he also highlighted Fight Right’s entrance into the mix. Uthmeier said the campaign welcomed “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.”

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Never Back Down acknowledged the group as well, with a spokesman saying, “The more teammates exposing Nikki Haley’s consistent flip flops, moderate record, and devotion to Chinese companies and corporate Wall Street donors, the better.”

Mabinty Quarshie contributed to this report.