ANNALS OF DeSANTISTAN: DeSantis' "Never Back Down" PAC CEO Quits Amidst Strife. (WaPo)

So Governor RONALD DION DeSANTIS' "Never Back Down" PAC's CEO quit. The hits keep on coming. From The Washington Post:

 

CEO of pro-DeSantis super PAC resigns amid rising tensions

By Hannah Knowles

 and 

Josh Dawsey

Updated November 22, 2023 at 8:38 p.m. EST|Published November 22, 2023 at 7:18 p.m. EST

Ellie Mooney, 44, signs the campaign bus of Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis after a Never Back Down campaign event in Keene, N.H., on Tuesday. (Sophie Park/Reuters)

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The chief executive of Never Back Down, the primary super PAC supporting Ron DeSantis’s presidential bid, resigned on Wednesday amid increasingly public tensions over strategy that spilled out anew after close DeSantis allies created a new outside group to run ads.

“Never Back Down’s main goal and sole focus has been to elect Governor Ron DeSantis as President,” the CEO, Chris Jankowski, said in a statement. “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.”

Never Back Down, which as a super PAC can raise unlimited donations, has played an unusually large role in the Florida governor’s White House bid, taking over activities traditionally handled by campaigns, such as field organizing. Initially funded with more than $80 million left over from DeSantis’s gubernatorial reelection, it built a massive door-knocking program, hosted many of DeSantis’s events and even took on some of the cost of his private plane travel.

That arrangement helped the campaign offload many costs, and Never Back Down expanded its role further as the campaign faced an early budget crunch and downsized. But the super PAC is legally forbidden from coordinating with the campaign on strategy, and officials in both camps have questioned the other’s approach. DeSantis has expressed displeasure at times with Never Back Down, according to people who have spoken to him.

Jankowski’s announcement came the day after NBC News reported on fighting among Never Back Down’s leadership, and shortly after DeSantis allies created a new Tallahassee-based nonprofit and affiliated super PAC named Fight Right. Never Back Down’s board members were divided over a decision to transfer money to fund Fight Right, according to people familiar with the matter, who, like some others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. Fight Right this week began running ads attacking Nikki Haley, a rising rival of DeSantis.

“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,” Andrew Romeo, a spokesman for the DeSantis campaign, said in a statement.

The New York Times first reported that Jankowski was stepping down. Jankowski did not immediately respond to further inquiries.

Never Back Down’s chief operating officer, Kristin Davison, will take over as CEO, according to staff members, who were informed Wednesday.

Never Back Down had been running its own ads against Haley but took them off the air recently, and there were worries that the negative spots were backfiring on DeSantis, given how closely he is associated with the super PAC.

“The governor is riding around Iowa on a bus that says Never Back Down,” said one Republican consultant familiar with the formation of Fight Right. “It would be political malpractice to have that same group” running attack ads. The person said Fight Right’s formation was a signal to Never Back Down to let the new group handle negative advertising.

Fight Right’s directors include DeSantis adviser David Dewhirst, DeSantis appointee Jeff Aaron and DeSantis-linked lobbyist Scott Ross.

“Fight Right was created to help tell voters the truth about politicians who break their promises and abandon conservative principles — politicians like Nikki Haley. Fight Right will join the fight with the premier DeSantis Super PAC, Never Back Down, to achieve a DeSantis victory,” Dewhirst said in a statement on Tuesday.

Later that day, drama at Never Back Down spilled out in the NBC report, which cited a person in the room to describe a heated dispute between top strategist Jeff Roe and a member of Never Back Down’s board, Scott Wagner.

Some DeSantis donors have long been critical of Never Back Down, and in particular, Jankowski and Roe. Some DeSantis advisers came to believe that Never Back Down’s ads were not working, and there is distrust of Roe in DeSantis’s inner circle, according to a person with direct knowledge of the dynamic.

The person said that drama had been “building” for some time and that the final straw was the new group Fight Right. “There’s a lot of drama, partially because it’s not going well, and partially because there’s a lot of competing personalities,” the person said.

DeSantis has privately voiced complaints about Roe, three people familiar with the comments told The Washington Post in September.

DeSantis’s campaign strongly denied that at the time, praising Never Back Down’s work, and the super PAC has continued to work closely with DeSantis.

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DeSantis Super PAC C.E.O. Resigns

Chris Jankowski, the chief executive of the Never Back Down super PAC, stepped down as internal disputes among supporters of Ron DeSantis intensified.

The DeSantis super PAC known as Never Back Down and the DeSantis campaign have pressed the boundaries of what super PACs usually do. Gov. Ron DeSantis has traveled across Iowa on a super PAC-funded bus.Credit...Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press

By Maggie Haberman and Shane Goldmacher

Nov. 22, 2023

Gov. Ron DeSantis’s political orbit confronted fresh upheaval on the eve of Thanksgiving as the chief executive of the super PAC that has effectively taken over his presidential campaign resigned after days of infighting among DeSantis allies over strategy, financing and how to blunt the momentum of one of his rivals, Nikki Haley.

That chief executive, Chris Jankowski, sent a resignation note on Wednesday to the board of Never Back Down, which has been the main pro-DeSantis super PAC. The resignation was effective immediately. In a statement from Mr. Jankowski issued by the group, he described his differences with them as “well beyond a difference of strategic opinion.”

Never Back Down, which had amassed $130 million over the summer, has played a critical role in supporting Mr. DeSantis. Mr. Jankowski’s departure caps days of internal tensions within the group over the next steps in their Republican primary race against the front-runner, Donald J. Trump, and comes seven weeks before the pivotal Iowa caucuses in January.

Presidential campaigns are legally barred from coordinating with super PACs. But the DeSantis campaign and Never Back Down have repeatedly pressed the boundaries of what super PACs usually do.

Never Back Down has been paying for some of the candidate’s travel and striving to build a field operation across the country and in three of the early-voting states. Mr. DeSantis, who has lost significant ground in polling against Mr. Trump since before he became a candidate, routinely appears at fund-raisers coordinated by the super PAC and has traveled across Iowa on a super PAC-funded bus attending super PAC events as a “special guest.”

Mr. DeSantis has a long history throughout his political career of cycling through different teams, a fact that people who have worked for him have attributed to his micromanaging style.

Never Back Down has been paying for some of the candidate’s travel and striving to build a field operation across the country and in three of the early-voting states. Mr. DeSantis, who has lost significant ground in polling against Mr. Trump since before he became a candidate, routinely appears at fund-raisers coordinated by the super PAC and has traveled across Iowa on a super PAC-funded bus attending super PAC events as a “special guest.”

Mr. DeSantis has a long history throughout his political career of cycling through different teams, a fact that people who have worked for him have attributed to his micromanaging style.

Chris Jankowski, the chief executive of Never Back Down who resigned on Wednesday, in 2014.Credit...Steve Helber/Associated Press

In the statement from Mr. Jankowski provided by a Never Back Down spokeswoman, he said, “Never Back Down’s main goal and sole focus has been to elect Gov. Ron DeSantis as president. 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.”

In the past several weeks, allies of Mr. DeSantis and his wife have repeatedly complained about ads that Never Back Down ran attacking his closest rival in the primary, Ms. Haley, in connection with China. His allies have questioned the messaging and depth of the ad-buying by the super PAC, according to two people briefed on the matter. A third said some allies believed Mr. DeSantis was being blamed by voters for the negative spots.

Since they came into existence nearly 15 years ago, super PACs have traditionally handled negative messaging and advertising against a candidate’s rival. But some DeSantis allies have come to believe that his own super PAC is too closely connected to him in the eyes of voters, and that Never Back Down’s work is a reason he is struggling in the polls. Campaign officials, meanwhile, have privately been critical of the group for running negative ads.

Some of the tensions flared last week at a strategy meeting held by Never Back Down at its Atlanta offices. The group’s main strategist, Jeff Roe, and a board member, Scott Wagner, who is a college friend of Mr. DeSantis, had a heated argument during a discussion about money, according to people briefed on the matter.

Mr. Roe and Mr. Wagner declined to comment on the dispute, which was first reported by NBC News.

One of the issues discussed by Never Back Down last week involved the transfer of $1 million to a new entity, Fight Right, which was set up by close allies of Mr. DeSantis, to broadcast its own spots attacking Ms. Haley.

Some members of Never Back Down — including Ken Cuccinelli, one of its original officials — expressed concern about how the group was handling the $1 million transfer. In an email to his colleagues, described by a person familiar with its content, Mr. Cuccinelli wrote, “The manner in which the Haley hit and its funding appears to be proceeding is exceedingly objectionable to me.” In later emails, another Never Back Down official indicated that the group had been given the sign-off to send the $1 million, and it went ahead, the person said.

The new Fight Right group was created by three people with close ties to Mr. DeSantis: David Dewhirst, a lawyer who worked in the governor’s office; Scott Ross, a Tallahassee lobbyist close to Mr. DeSantis; and Jeff Aaron, a Florida lawyer and DeSantis appointee.

In a statement sent by Fight Right on Tuesday, Mr. Dewhirst said the group would “join the fight with the premier DeSantis Super PAC, Never Back Down, to achieve a DeSantis victory.”

With the governor unhappy with some of the old super PAC’s ads, some allies see the new group as more closely aligned with his current campaign manager, James Uthmeier, according to two people briefed on the matter. Mr. DeSantis picked Mr. Uthmeier to replace his original campaign manager, Generra Peck, after a midsummer shake-up.

The DeSantis campaign adamantly denied any involvement from Mr. Uthmeier. Coordinating strategy between outside groups and campaigns is not allowed under federal law.

“The assertion that James has anything to do with the formulation of or the strategy being pursued by an outside entity is absurd and categorically false,” said Andrew Romeo, a spokesman for Mr. DeSantis.

A person familiar with the matter said Never Back Down officials held a previously scheduled briefing call with donors on Wednesday, during which Fight Right was described as analogous to a subsidiary. The person said the group’s officials — including Mr. Cuccinelli — suggested the only money going to Fight Right would be transfers from Never Back Down.

But the new entity was welcomed by the DeSantis campaign in general. “We are excited to see even more backers stepping up to support Ron DeSantis’s candidacy,” Mr. Romeo said.

Mr. Jankowski — a longtime political adviser to Leonard Leo, one of the most influential conservatives in legal circles in the country — was the architect of a 2010 Republican program known as Redmap, short for the Redistricting Majority Project, which helped conservatives achieve gains in redistricting efforts that lasted a decade.

Late on Wednesday, Adam Laxalt, the chairman of Never Back Down, announced in an internal message that Kristin Davison would now serve as chief executive, according to two people familiar with the matter. Ms. Davison has been a top official on the super PAC and a longtime colleague of Mr. Roe.

Jonathan Swan contributed reporting.

Maggie Haberman is a senior political correspondent and the author of “Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America.” She was part of a team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2018 for reporting on President Trump’s advisers and their connections to Russia. More about Maggie Haberman

Shane Goldmacher is a national political reporter and was previously the chief political correspondent for the Metro desk. Before joining The Times, he worked at Politico, where he covered national Republican politics and the 2016 presidential campaign.More about Shane Goldmacher

A version of this article appears in print on Nov. 24, 2023, Section A, Page 18 of the New York edition with the headline: Leader of DeSantis’s Super PAC Resigns in a Dispute Over Strategy. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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