adminThe formation of a new super PAC backing Ron DeSantis is raising fresh questions about discord between the Florida governor’s official campaign and Never Back Down, the super PAC that has taken a leading and unprecedented role in advertising and establishing a ground game for DeSantis’ presidential bid.
Fight Right Inc. registered as a super PAC with the FEC last week, meaning it can accept unlimited contributions and make independent expenditures in support of DeSantis’ White House bid. Its creation comes with less than two months to go before the caucuses in Iowa, where DeSantis has focused his campaign strategy.
The launch of the new political action committee occurred at least in part because negative ads run by the first super PAC aligned with the Florida governor, Never Back Down, were becoming too closely associated with the candidate, according to a source familiar with the situation.
DeSantis and his wife, Casey, are not unhappy with Never Back Down’s efforts overall, the source said, but they didn’t think the ads were as strong as they could be.
“I think overall he’s impressed with the ground game operation there,” the source told CNN, but added that the couple were “not as impressed with the ads as they would like to be.”
A second source said there were concerns about the close association between DeSantis and the negative ads being run by Never Back Down and that the idea of a new group that is not as synonymous with the candidate running ads is a welcome development.
The Florida governor often appears at events sponsored by Never Back Down. That super PAC has already spent at least $41 million boosting him and millions more on the campaign events featuring DeSantis, having received a transfer of more than $80 million in political funds that he had stockpiled in his state-level fundraising committee ahead of the White House race.
While the DeSantis campaign has downplayed talk of tension with Never Back Down, their alliance has not always been seamless, including when a memo from the super PAC was published ahead of the first debate advising the Florida governor on his strategy.
The memo suggested DeSantis “hammer” entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and defend former President Donald Trump if he was attacked by former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. It caused confusion and anger among donors and fundraisers, and DeSantis himself tried to distance himself from it.
“So, that is not part of me. That’s a separate entity. I had nothing to do with it. It’s not something that I’ve read, and it’s not, not reflective of my strategy,” DeSantis said at the time.
Fight Right Inc., the new PAC, has already booked about $918,000 worth of advertising time over the next week, with ads set to start running in key Iowa media markets on Thanksgiving.
DeSantis found out about the formation of the new super PAC yesterday, after seeing it placed an ad-buy, according to the second source.
“We are excited to see even more backers stepping up to support Ron DeSantis’ candidacy,” DeSantis campaign communications director Andrew Romeo said in a statement. “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.”
The new group could complement Never Back Down’s efforts, but also compete for donors, some of whom have already expressed skepticism about the high burn-rate of DeSantis’ political operation.
And it will also compete for airtime on Iowa airwaves that have been and will continue to be bombarded by campaign advertising. Already, campaigns and outside groups have aired more than $75 million worth of advertising in Iowa, and nearly $9 million in future reservations have been booked through January.
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