DeSantis super PAC cancels TV ads in Iowa, New Hampshire

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s super PAC, Never Back Down, has reportedly canceled all of its 2024 ad reservation in Iowa and New Hampshire, a total of $2.5 million in ad buys, just weeks before the GOP presidential primary kicks off. 

The cancellation was first reported by AdImpact Politics, an advertisement tracking group. 

Scott Wagner, the group’s chairman, said in a statement to The Hill that the decision would allow his PAC to focus on its “core mission” of running a grass-roots operation in the early states, while a newly created outside group, called Fight Right, will be “covering the air for Governor DeSantis”

“Never Back Down is laser focused on its core mission – running the most advanced grassroots and political caucus operation in this race and helping deliver the GOP nomination for Governor DeSantis who will deliver America from the disastrous policies of the Left,” Wagner said in the statement. “We are thrilled to have Fight Right and others covering the air for Governor DeSantis while we work the ground game in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and beyond.”

The cancelation comes less than a month before the start of the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary. DeSantis currently trails GOP front-runner Donald Trump and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley in both early-voting states. 

Never Back Down’s shift in strategy is notable considering the super PAC was buying ads during spring and summer, along with providing functions normally handled by campaigns, including massive advertising efforts and using door-knocking operations to galvanize voters. 

The super PAC’s move comes after a memo suggested by the governor’s presidential campaign, according to The New York Times.

Taryn Fenske, a spokesperson for Fight Right, said in a statement to The Hill that the group will spend more than $2.5 million on ads before the caucuses start in the Hawkeye State. 

Never Back Down has faced departures in the last few weeks, with the top strategist Jeff Roe, leaving in the wake of a detailed report published by The Washington Post.

Fenske said part of Fight Right’s $2.5 million plan includes a $1.3 million broadcast and cable reservation in Iowa, with one ad, scheduled to air Sunday, targeting Haley’s stance and record on China.

Meanwhile, another pro-DeSantis Super PAC has emerged. The group, called “Good Fight,” registered with the FEC on Wednesday and placed a $1.3 million reservation for an ad to run on broadcast and cable right before the Iowa caucuses, The Hill has learned.

“Good Fight is a new super PAC, funded by donors who feel strongly about the Governor and First Lady’s message – that he’s a fighter, has strong conservative principles, sterling integrity, and effective leadership,” a source familiar with the matter said. “They wanted to back an ad that might look familiar to Floridians, as it’s similar to the “Who is Ron DeSantis” ad from the Governor’s re-elect.”

The group’s ad has DeSantis’s wife, Florida first lady Casey DeSantis, talking about her husband’s role in the family while touting the governor’s background.

“I get asked all the time, ‘Who is Ron DeSantis?’,” Casey DeSantis says in the ad. “Well, he’s the kid who ended up working his tail off, paying his own way through school, then volunteering to serve in the Navy and deploying to Iraq. He’s the man who I fell in love with from the moment we met, and he’s the dad of three very rambunctious, energetic children. But if you want to know who Ron DeSantis really is, when I was diagnosed with cancer, and I was facing the battle for my life, he was the dad who took care of my children when I couldn’t. He was there to pick me off the ground when I literally could not stand.”

Updated: 4:29 p.m. ET