Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' campaign reset is turning to the well-funded Never Back Down PAC to take the grassroots reins in Iowa as DeSantis' own campaign manager is reportedly admitting to having spent too much on an "ineffective campaign."
DeSantis campaign manager Generra Peck reportedly told a Utah billionaire donor summit that efforts have wasted too much money on an ineffective campaign to date, and will now turn to an "insurgent" effort in Iowa and the pro-DeSantis Never Back Down PAC's $100 million-plus, according to Politico and the Des Moines Register.
"Never Back Down is laser-focused on amplifying the governor's message through door-knocking, collecting caucus commitments and hosting events for him to participate in, and we'll continue growing all of those efforts over the next several months," PAC spokesperson Jess Szymanski told the Register in a statement.
PACs are prohibited by federal campaign finance laws from coordinating with official campaign operations.
But Never Back Down is taking its own initiative for the DeSantis campaign, having 21 full-time staff in Iowa with promises for more, according to the Register.
DeSantis has vowed to do the "full Grassley" tour through all 99 Iowa counties, and the Never Back Down PAC tour will be joined by DeSantis on Thursday.
The reset reportedly comes as DeSantis supporters, and anti-Trump Fox executives Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch, are frustrated with the lack of momentum against former President Donald Trump in polls and narratives.
Sources told the pro-Trump The National Pulse that those cooling on their DeSantis support can reportedly "smell a loser."
Recent polling has Trump polling double digits stronger than he was in the final 2016 GOP primary polls, and a Trump campaign pollster hailed a 30-point lead and noted Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., closing in on DeSantis in the first-in-the-nation caucus state.
Newsmax reached out to the DeSantis campaign for comment on all of the above, and an official pointed only to a campaign memo that referenced The Washington Post hitting Trump on the former president's PAC taking in tens of millions to help fund defense against myriad legal challenges.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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