A political action committee (PAC) aligned with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is staffing up across the country ahead of an expected presidential launch, according to The Associated Press.
Never Back Down PAC, founded by former Acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security to the Trump administration, Ken Cuccinelli, is tasked with recruiting DeSantis into the GOP primaries, and will likely serve as the governor’s main fundraising arm. The PAC is hiring staff in the first 18 Republican primary states to prepare for Super Tuesday on March 5 as it gears up for DeSantis to run for president, according to the AP. (RELATED: DeSantis Is Wrapping Up His Conservative Legislative Agenda, Closing In On Expected Presidential Bid, Sources Say)
“Never Back Down is building a grassroots movement that has not yet been seen in presidential primary elections,” Erin Perrine, the PAC’s communications director, said in a statement provided to the Daily Caller News Foundation. “We already have a dominant presence in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada, and we are expanding our operations outside of these first four primary states as the energy behind Gov. Ron DeSantis to run for president and defeat Joe Biden in 2024 continues to grow.”
Ron DeSantis never backs down because his backbone wasn’t forged overnight. He’s the president America needs. pic.twitter.com/h8YA65vJy7
— Never Back Down (@NvrBackDown24) April 22, 2023
In the key early primary state of Iowa, Never Back Down has hired roughly a half dozen staffers, along with Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds’ former chief of staff, according to the AP. Similar attempts have been taken in previous presidential elections, but not at the same scale or with much success, like former presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in 2016.
DeSantis recently severed ties with his state PAC, Friends of Ron DeSantis, in order for its remaining funds to be transferred elsewhere, with the committee’s website changed to say the “associated person” is state Sen. Blaise Ingoglia and no longer the governor, according to Politico. The governor is widely expected to announce a presidential run in the coming weeks now that Florida’s legislative session has concluded, according to multiple reports.
The governor’s political team did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
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