A super PAC supporting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presumed run for president in 2024 is reportedly making hires in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.
Though DeSantis has not formally announced a bid for the White House, those three states will kick off the Republicans' 2024 presidential nominating contest.
The New York Times reported that the pro-DeSantis super PAC, Never Back Down, has "acted as something of a campaign-in-waiting," explaining how it hires staff, responds to swipes by former President Donald Trump, and notably, engages with the mainstream media, which DeSantis himself aims to avoid.
The Times also noted how a key strategist, Sophie Crowell, who managed what resulted in the successful re-election campaign for Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, of Iowa, in 2022, recently joined the payroll of the Republican Party of Florida.
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Never Back Down revealed earlier this month that it had raised $30 million since March 9.
The superPAC recently launched a TV commercial questioning why Trump, who is being attacked by a Democrat prosecutor in New York, is "spending millions" attacking the Republican governor of Florida. The ad accused Trump of stealing moves from the "Biden-Pelosi" playbook by "repeating lies about Social Security."
David Polyansky, who held senior positions on the 2016 presidential campaigns of former Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin and Sen. Ted Cruz, of Texas, is reportedly overseeing hiring for Never Back Down. The Times reported that the super PAC employed Ethan Zorfas, another Cruz campaign veteran and a close ally of the strategist Jeff Roe, to oversee strategy in New Hampshire. Zorfas served as chief of staff to the state’s last Republican congressman, Frank Guinta, attended DeSantis’ speech on Friday in New Hampshire at a state party dinner, and worked for the congressional campaign of Karoline Leavitt in New Hampshire last year, the Times noted.
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Never Back Down hired Michael Mulé, who runs a political consulting firm in Charleston, to lead the groundwork in South Carolina.
Meanwhile, DeSantis made an appearance in Spartanburg and North Charleston, South Carolina, on Wednesday as part of his first official visit to the "First in the South" presidential primary state amid mounting anticipation of his 2024 presidential candidacy. He spoke of his offensive against Disney and challenging the "woke agenda."
"The threat is this woke mind virus, this ideology that has really captured so many institutions throughout society," the Florida governor told a North Charleston audience. "I think it's a form of cultural Marxism that seeks to divide not on class but on the basis of identity politics. I think it's an attack on merit. I think it's an attack on achievement. I think that at the end of the day, it's a war on truth, and it's really important that our society be rooted in truth."
"Somewhere along the line, it became normal that a university is used to impose an ideological agenda, to foment political activism and to be agents for, quote unquote, social justice," DeSantis added. "We will be signing legislation within the next six weeks eliminating so-called DEI programs from all public university. They say it stands for Diversity Equity, inclusion and reality. What it is, is a Trojan horse to impose left-wing ideology on the student body using the administrative apparatus of the university to do so."
