The main super PAC backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 2024 presidential bid is canceling all its remaining ads in Iowa and New Hampshire, totaling some $2.5 million, according to Ad Impact.
The move, just weeks before voting begins, is being spun as part of a division in responsibilities between what have essentially become two warring pro-DeSantis PACs, Never Back Down and Fight Right.
Here’s NBC News:
Never Back Down, which has been the primary super PAC backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the Republican presidential primary, has canceled its remaining TV ad reservations in Iowa and New Hampshire.
In a statement, the group's chairman indicated that Fight Right, another super PAC backing DeSantis, will handle TV ad spending going forward while Never Back Down focuses on its field operation.
But whatever the spin, the shift likely represents rising tensions between the two PACs, shifting power dynamics, and a raging dispute over messaging.
Never Back Down was the top spender among all campaigns and super PACs in the GOP presidential primary this year, pouring more than $40 million into ads, according to AdImpact.
But starting the second full week of December, the group went dark on the airwaves.
That's never a good sign heading into the final and most critical stretch of the primary schedule, mere weeks before the first-in-the-nation caucus and primary, in Iowa and New Hampshire, respectively.
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