Uh-Oh: Pro-DeSantis Super PAC Fires Interim CEO After Just Over a Week, Other Senior Members Also Resign or Get Fired
There appears to be massive turmoil within the main super PAC supporting Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign.
The super PAC, Never Back Down, has fired interim chief executive officer Kristin Davison after she was on the job for only nine days.
Politico reported on Saturday evening that the firing was due to unspecified “management and personnel issues.”
The report explains:
Never Back Down fired Kristin Davison on Friday for unspecified “management and personnel issues” just nine days after she replaced Chris Jankowski as CEO, according to two people familiar with the decision. The super PAC named Scott Wagner, a longtime DeSantis ally, as interim CEO, according to an internal email sent Saturday night. Wagner is also replacing former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt as board chairman.
Jankowski left on Nov. 22; Laxalt resigned four days later. Davison’s firing came five days after that, and Erin Perrine, a Never Back Down spokesperson, was also fired, according to a person familiar with the matter. Her departure was first reported by Semafor.
And others have also split with the super PAC in recent days, said the two people, who were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss personnel changes. It was not immediately clear how widespread the other departures were.
“I and the entire board look forward to continuing to work with the whole Never Back Down team to double down on its core mission of running the biggest and best ground game in modern American politics,” Wagner reportedly wrote in a memo on Saturday.
According to the report, massive infighting has been plaguing the super PAC and there has been deep conflict between it and the campaign.
Last week, Wagner and top Never Back Down strategist Jeff Roe nearly came to blows.
The campaign believes that the PAC’s television ads are ineffective and has urged them to focus on get-out-the-vote efforts instead.
“As turmoil roiled Never Back Down, DeSantis allies formed a new super PAC, Fight Right. Never Back Down had been the only pro-DeSantis group — taking on more campaign functions than most super PACs normally do — and the creation of the new group raised questions about Never Back Down’s role moving forward,” the Politico report added.
The campaign has undoubtedly been feeling the pressure as large anti-Trump donors abandon the governor for the hawkish Nikki Haley, who has been climbing in the polls.
“Scott Wagner will now serve as chairman of the board and interim CEO of Never Back Down,” the PAC said in a statement to Myrtle Beach Online. “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.”
