In a statement, Scott Wagner, head of the super PAC newly formed Fight Right, characterized the decision as part of a shift to never back down to focus on the “core mission” of grassroots action in early states. The super PAC supports the Florida governor, airing television ads.
“We're excited to have Fight Rite and others cover the air for Gov. DeSantis as we play on the ground in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and beyond,” Wagner said.
Wagner's statement did not provide additional information about what led to the cancellation.
The shift marks a stunning shift from the pro-DeSantis campaign, which spent heavily on television in the spring and summer on the assumption that it could raise more funds from wealthy donors in the winter.
Darrin Fenske, a spokesman for Fight Right, said it will put more than $2.5 million in advertising ahead of the Iowa caucuses.
The moves come as Never Back Down has struggled to support DeSantis as originally intended and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley has risen in the polls, threatening DeSantis' position as the leading challenger to former President Donald Trump.
Never Back Down comes after millions of dollars DeSantis raised for his 2022 re-election campaign were not spent. Although the organization is legally prohibited from directly coordinating with the campaign, it has found ways to play a greater role in promoting DeSantis on the campaign trail. For his travel and extensive door-knocking in Iowa.
But in recent weeks that system has begun to collapse.
On Saturday night, about four hours after the Washington Post's story about the problems first appeared online, Jeff Roe — a key architect of the Never Back Down strategy — announced he was resigning, further deepening the group's confusion.
After the super PAC sent statements to The Post, he said the group had fired officials associated with Roe's organization because of “mismanagement and behavioral issues” and said it “could never in good conscience be affiliated without backing down.”
Haley's campaign seized on Never Back Down's ad cancellations Friday, evidence of DeSantis' waning race.
“It's now a two-person race between Nikki Haley and Donald Trump,” said Nachama Solovitchik, director of communications for Haley's campaign. “Nikki is the only Trump alternative with the support, organization and resources to go the distance.”
Fenske, a spokeswoman for Fight Rite, said the description of Soloveitchik's race was “simply false.”
Fight Rite plays the role of “air force,” while Never Back Down does the ground game for DeSantis, Fenske said. The $2.5 million in advertising the group plans to place before the Iowa caucuses includes a $1.3 million cable and broadcast buy in the state.
An ad, which will begin running on Sunday, focuses on Haley's feat in China with the tag line, “We can't trust sneaky Nikki.”
DeSantis campaign spokesman Andrew Romeo also hit out at Haley's campaign on Friday, saying the former South Carolina governor had “no path to candidacy and every dollar spent on her candidacy was an in-kind contribution to the Trump campaign.”
DeSantis campaign manager James Uthmeier signaled the super PACs' strategic shift to donors on Nov. 27, marked private and confidential, saying it welcomed Fight Right's “wind support.”
The memo described Never Back Down as having spent more on ads in the presidential campaign than any other group or candidate at the time.
Five other senior officials have left Never Back Town since late November. Three officers from Rowe's company were fired; Both the board chairman and founding chief executive resigned amid internal concerns about legal compliance. A verbal confrontation from within the group's Atlanta offices became publicAs did DeSantis' own misgivings about the leadership of the outside group.
According to AdImpact, since Dec. 15, SFA Fund, an outside group supporting Nikki Haley, has spent $4.6 million on Fight Rite, with $1.7 million.
The Haley campaign is outpacing the DeSantis campaign in advertising spending, $1.4 million compared to $309,135 for DeSantis.
As of Sept. 30, Never Back Down spent $25.5 million on ads, according to AdImpact, compared to SFA Fund's $11.9 million. Haley's campaign ran less than $120,000 in ads during that period, while DeSantis spent $1.6 million.
