Ron DeSantis Met With Republican Donors to New Super PAC
Jose Nino
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On November 27, 2023, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis met with prospective donors from Fight Right, a newly created super PAC that is supporting his languishing presidential campaign.
In a memo published on November 27, DeSantis campaign manager James Uthmeier announced that the campaign would welcome the Fight Righ’s effort, while also lauding the “incredible field operation and ground game” of Never Back Down, a super PAC that has played a significant role in DeSantis’s 2024 presidential campaign.
Fight Right will “devote full attention to fighting for Ron DeSantis through powerful TV advertising,” Uthmeier declared.
“In the final push for the Iowa Caucus victory, this campaign will proudly fight alongside NBD’s impressive ground game, and Fight Right’s television team, to show the people of Iowa that this is a time for choosing,” he continued.
The memo emerged as infighting between leading DeSantis allies has gone public and the Florida governor’s campaign has stalled out.
Curiously, campaigns are restricted by federal law to raise a maximum of $3,300 from individuals for the primary race. By contrast, super PACs don’t face these limitations. That said, super PACs are banned from working in tandem with the campaigns they support on strategic matters.
DeSantis’ allies set up Fight Right earlier in November. Never Back Down’s board members were split on the move to transfer money to bankroll the new pro-DeSantis organization, per two people familiar with the issue who spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk about these private conversations.
Never Back Down dropped over $40 million in ads this presidential cycle, which is a higher figure than any other super PAC or campaign in the 2024 presidential race, per the ad tracking firm AdImpact.
Chris Jankowski, the former CEO of Never Back Down, recently resigned, declaring that the work environment had become “untenable” for him and that the problems the organization was facing were “well beyond a difference of strategic opinion.”
From the start, Never Back Down was bankrolled with over $80 million left over from an organization supporting DeSantis’s gubernatorial re-election bid. Never Back Down set up a large door-knocking program, organized many of DeSantis’s events, and assumed some of his private plane travel costs.
The DeSantis campaign is a total mess. From the incoherent foreign policy messaging — initially sounded promising but ended up sounding more neoconservative — to DeSantis’ uncharismatic nature, this campaign is destined for failure. At the end of the day, the GOP is Trump’s party, and anyone who denies it is simply not in touch with reality.
Republicans who are serious about winning in 2024 must throw their support behind Trump.
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