A political action committee aligned with Ron DeSantis is making a major push in Iowa ahead of the GOP caucuses and promises to spend in New Hampshire, too.
On Dec. 22, with the Jan. 15 Iowa Caucus and Jan. 23 New Hampshire primary fast approaching, reports circulated that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s main super PAC, Never Back Down Inc., was suffering another setback, canceling television advertising contracts in both states.
According to Federal Communications Commission disclosures, Never Back Down did cancel about $405,000 worth of advertising in the Boston television market and about $498,000 worth of ads in various Iowa markets between Dec. 21 and Dec. 22.
Another DeSantis-aligned super PAC, Fight Right Inc., picked up the slack, however.
All told, in December, the PAC booked about $3.5 million worth of television advertising in the Iowa television markets of Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Waterloo, Davenport and Sioux City, according to federal records.
A super PAC can solicit or make unlimited contributions from individuals, corporations, labor unions, and other political committees, according to the regulatory agency.
The Tallahassee, Florida-based PAC began airing ads in late November and is currently scheduled to air through the end of December.
In emails sent to The Epoch Times, spokespersons of Never Back Down and Fight Right said the advertising shakeup is a matter of collaboration, not a sign that the DeSantis campaign is withdrawing from New Hampshire.
On Dec. 22, Fight Right spokesperson Taryn Fenske said that “it’s basically a swap” and Fight Right is “the air force to [Never Back Down’s] army.”
“They’re basically passing the buys to Fight Right to make,” she said.
Created on Nov. 16, Fight Right is dedicated to negative ad buys against former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley. When The Epoch Times last analyzed federal disclosures on Dec. 6, the PAC had already spent $1.2 million on air time in Iowa.
Starting Dec. 24, Ms. Fenske told The Epoch Times that Fight Right will spend more than $2.5 million ahead of the Iowa Caucus.
Ms. Fenske said the Super PAC is also spending $1.3 million to run an attack ad on Ms. Haley the weekend of Dec. 23–24.
It will spend another $1.3 million on a broadcast and cable campaign featuring both a 60- and 30-second version of a positive ad of Florida’s First Lady Casey DeSantis that originally aired in the Sunshine State under the Super PAC Good Fight.
“They felt so strongly about the First Lady’s message that they wanted to back an ad that might look familiar to Floridians,” she said.
Good Fight, according to FEC records, was organized on Dec. 20. Its statement of organization lists a Washington, DC, address and lists Craig Moreno as its treasurer. Mr. Moreno’s email address is listed as a secondary contact for Fight Right Inc.
Fight Right was unable to provide any estimates of ad spending in New Hampshire as they were still working through placements.
The organizational change comes as Mr. DeSantis’s presidential effort appears to be reeling behind the scenes.
In the past month, Never Back Down experienced the abrupt departure of its chief strategist, Jeff Roe, its CEO, Chris Jankowski, and its Chairman, Adam Laxalt. Moreover, it faces recurring accusations that it and the campaign broke campaign finance law by moving assets from a Florida fund to the federal super PAC.
However, the cancellations may be a sign of transition and restructuring rather than another symptom of decline. As it withdraws its buys, the newcomer Fight Right takes its place and adds even more to the Iowa effort.
“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,” Never Back Down Chairman Scott Wagner said in a statement provided to The Epoch Times.
“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.”
According to the latest polls in Iowa, Mr. DeSantis is battling with Ms. Haley for the second spot.
That poll of 805 likely caucusgoers was conducted Dec. 14–18 by Beacon Research and Shaw & Co. Research. The margin of error is 3.5 percent.
