The head of the Never Back Down super PAC resigned Wednesday, dealing another major blow to Florida governor Ron DeSantis’s 2024 presidential chances.
“Never Back Down’s main goal and sole focus has been to elect Governor Ron DeSantis as President,” said CEO Chris Jankowski, according to the New York Times. “Given the current environment it has become untenable for me to deliver on the shared goal and that goes well beyond a difference of strategic opinion. For the future of our country I support and pray Ron DeSantis is our 47th president.”
Jankowski’s announcement comes on the heels of DeSantis winning an endorsement from Bob Vander Plaats, an influential evangelical conservative in Iowa and president of the Family Leader organization. Although the Florida governor has received an endorsement from Iowa governor Kim Reynolds while courting the state’s voters as part of a new strategy, it appears there is some infighting going on behind the scenes within his campaign.
DeSantis, who was once believed to be former president Donald Trump’s main competition, has been struggling to gain traction in the months leading up to the 2024 Republican primaries — particularly against former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley. In fact, Haley seems to be derailing the DeSantis camp the more she rises in popularity among voters.
Never Back Down leaders reportedly disagreed in a private meeting last week over the super PAC’s attack ads against Haley, according to NBC News. In trying to outline an effective strategy against her, two DeSantis allies got into such a heated argument that they almost physically traded blows before one of them was restrained.
Following the contentious meeting, a second pro-DeSantis super PAC named Fight Right was registered with the Federal Election Commission last week. The new political group launched an ad in Iowa, starting this week, that compared Haley to former secretary of state Hillary Clinton in an effort to appeal to the state’s Republican voter base.
Fight Right reportedly received a $1 million cash infusion after DeSantis and his wife, Casey DeSantis, were displeased with Never Back Down’s leadership, given the Republican candidate’s low polling numbers.
In recent months, DeSantis has been sliding in the polls while Haley has risen to second place behind Trump in several key states. Haley currently leads DeSantis by 11 points in New Hampshire and 8 points in South Carolina, according to a RealClearPolitics average of polling data. DeSantis slightly leads Haley by 3 points in Iowa, despite his best efforts to refocus his campaign in the state. However, both presidential hopefuls still trail Trump by upwards of 40 points nationally.