The formation of a new super PAC backing Ron DeSantis is raising fresh questions about discord between the Florida governor’s official campaign and Never Back Down, the super PAC that has taken a leading and unprecedented role in advertising and establishing a ground game for DeSantis’ presidential bid.
Fight Right Inc. registered as a super PAC with the FEC last week, meaning it can accept unlimited contributions and make independent expenditures in support of DeSantis’ White House bid. Its creation comes with less than two months to go before the caucuses in Iowa, where DeSantis has focused his campaign strategy.
The launch of the new political action committee occurred at least in part because negative ads run by the first super PAC aligned with the Florida governor, Never Back Down, were becoming too closely associated with the candidate, according to a source familiar with the situation.
DeSantis and his wife, Casey, are not unhappy with Never Back Down’s efforts overall, the source said, but they didn’t think the ads were as strong as they could be.
“I think overall he’s impressed with the ground game operation there,” the source told CNN, but added that the couple were “not as impressed with the ads as they would like to be.”
A second source said there were concerns about the close association between DeSantis and the negative ads being run by Never Back Down and that the idea of a new group that is not as synonymous with the candidate running ads is a welcome development.
The Florida governor often appears at events sponsored by Never Back Down. That super PAC has already spent at least $41 million boosting him and millions more on the campaign events featuring DeSantis, having received a transfer of more than $80 million in political funds that he had stockpiled in his state-level fundraising committee ahead of the…
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