Wheels threaten to come off DeSantis campaign

Internal turmoil is threatening to torpedo Ron DeSantis’s already struggling presidential campaign as he heads toward a make-or-break moment in next month’s Iowa caucuses. 

Over the weekend, a Washington Post report detailed chaos within DeSantis’s super PAC, Never Back Down. Hours later, a top strategist left the operation — just four weeks before voting kicks off in Iowa with what might be the most critical contest for the Florida governor.  

A complaint filed Monday by the nonprofit watchdog Campaign Legal Center also alleges DeSantis “illegally coordinated” with the super PAC and that Never Back Down went against an “explicit legal requirement that super PACs must remain ‘independent.'” 

These developments add to a string of setbacks and shakeups for DeSantis’s campaign as he struggles to hold on to second place in the Republican presidential field, with former President Trump in the lead and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley on the rise. 

Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis during a Republican presidential primary debate hosted by NewsNation on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023, at the Moody Music Hall at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

“When things go badly in a campaign, the wheels tend to come off. There’s a lot of finger-pointing, there’s a lot of blame, and it inevitably spills out into the public and just compounds the problems,” said Republican strategist Alex Conant. 

The Post’s story — which laid out a string of recent exits and firings at the super PAC, tensions with the campaign and allegations of “a troubled structure” — “read like a post-mortem,” Conant said.  

GOP strategist Doug Heye said it’s not clear whether the reports of super PAC tumult signal the wheels coming off DeSantis’s campaign — or if the wheels actually “have never actually been on.”  

Never Back Down chairman Scott Wagner said in a statement to The Post that senior officials were terminated “following mismanagement and conduct issues, including numerous unauthorized leaks containing false information.”

But a lawyer for the employees claimed Wagner’s assertions were false, and the statement was revised to refer to “opinions regarding mismanagement and conduct issues” and to say the super PAC and the senior officials “parted ways,” according to the report.   

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Top Never Back Down adviser Jeff Roe announced his departure from the super PAC just after the Post’s story on Saturday. 

“I cannot in good conscience stay affiliated with Never Back Down (NBD) given the statements in the Washington Post today. They are not true and an unwanted distraction at a critical time for Governor DeSantis,” Roe said in a statement on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.  

The super PAC is notably an outside group that’s taken on much responsibility for the DeSantis campaign. 

Republican strategist Brian Seitchik said the latest drama around the super PAC “takes oxygen away” from DeSantis’s campaign as he tries to gear up for Iowa — and puts “petty squabbles” in the spotlight over the Florida governor’s policy stances and presidential plans.  

“This is an absolute disaster for the DeSantis campaign as we head into the final stretch,” Seitchik said.  

But the campaign is shrugging off concerns about the shakeups.  

“We have full confidence in the NBD ground game and field operation, which is second to none. There is a stellar team in place and we appreciate their independent efforts to fight for Ron DeSantis,” said campaign communications director Andrew Romeo in a statement. 

DeSantis reportedly said on Monday that Roe’s resignation is “not a distraction” and stressed he’s not involved in the “separate entity.” 

The Hill has also reached out to Never Back Down for comment. 

Brett Doster, a Florida-based Republican strategist, said the stories swirling around DeSantis’s campaign feel “very chaotic” but said the public might do well to temper its interpretation of them.  

“It feels very unsettling when you see staff departures like this. However, I would remind anyone that from the inside … a lot of times, these types of interactions and relationships with people can be fairly standard, particularly in a high-stress presidential campaign,” Doster said.  

The discord surrounding the Florida governor’s political machine isn’t new: the super PAC has seen several spurts of controversy in recent months, and the DeSantis team has been swatting away alarm about a sagging campaign since this summer.  

TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA – DECEMBER 06: Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis takes the stage for the NewsNation Republican Presidential Primary Debate at the University of Alabama Moody Music Hall on December 6, 2023 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The four presidential hopefuls squared off during the fourth Republican primary debate without current frontrunner and former U.S. President Donald Trump, who has declined to participate in any of the previous debates. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Wagner is the group’s third CEO in the last month. Chris Jankowski stepped down as CEO in late November, citing “the current environment.” Interim CEO Kristin Davison was out after just nine days, replaced by Wagner, and former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt (R) also exited his role as chairman of the super PAC earlier this month.  

The Post reported back in September that DeSantis had expressed regret over hiring Roe, and The Associated Press recently reported that DeSantis and his wife had expressed frustration with Never Back Down’s messaging amid legal concerns.  

NBC News also reported last month that Roe and Wagner got into a tense argument during a Never Back Down budget discussion with board members and senior staff. A new super PAC — Fight Right Inc. — has been launched by DeSantis allies in Florida. 

“DeSantis was strongest months ago. The fact is: Sunshine has not been his friend,” Seitchik said, arguing the Florida governor has struggled under national attention. “He’s has been on a southern trajectory for months now, and that’s a very serious problem.” 

DeSantis entered the GOP presidential race earlier this year as the candidate favored to be most competitive against quasi-incumbent Trump, jumping in with a massive war chest, a recent reelection win in the midterms, and high expectations.  

But he’s struggled to narrow the former president’s substantial lead and now risks losing the runner-up slot to Haley, who’s seen bursts of momentum and gotten boosts from big donors in recent months. 

“Every once in a while with a campaign, you wonder if their best day is the day they announced. And it’s not clear if DeSantis has had a best day, and if he did, it was probably well before he announced,” said Heye. 

Republican presidential candidate former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley speaks as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis listens during a Republican presidential primary debate hosted by NBC News, Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023, at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Now, DeSantis and his rivals have just four weeks before the presidential nominating cycle gets going.  

DeSantis has invested heavily in Iowa in the weeks ahead of the critical caucus, completing the “Full Grassley” tour of the state’s 99 counties and securing a coveted endorsement from Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R).  

He’s polling second in the state, but he’s still double-digits behind Trump — and Haley is just a few points behind. A recent NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll puts Trump at 51 percent support among likely Iowa caucusgoers, with DeSantis and Haley trailing at 19 and 16 percent, respectively. 

“He’s not caught fire,” Heye said. “Especially with Haley in a real uptick, the campaign is not in a good place.”  

DeSantis likened Haley last week to the “old failed Republican establishment of yesteryear,” pressed for her to commit to debates set for January and pushed her to respond to rumors that she could be asked to join Trump’s ticket in 2024.  

For her part, Haley’s allies have already moved to seize on the controversy surrounding Never Back Down.  

“As Ron DeSantis’ campaign becomes a synonym for mistrust, mistakes and total chaos, we don’t want to imagine how he would run the federal government,” said SFA Fund Inc., the super PAC backing Haley, in a release after news of Roe’s departure.  

Trump shared on Truth Social that “Jeff Roe is out—GAME OVER for DeSanctimonious,” using his nickname for the Florida governor.  

Observers expect there may be just two tickets out of Iowa in January, given Trump’s substantial lead, as many in the party hope the field will narrow quickly so voters can consolidate being a non-Trump competitor.  

DeSantis, who was saddled with high expectations when he kicked off his campaign, might now benefit from low expectations heading into the caucuses, Conant said.  

“If he’s able to surprise and exceed expectations, that could breathe life into his campaign,” he said. “But Trump seems to be surging and DeSantis just hasn’t proven that he can run an effective campaign.”