Nov. 23 (UPI) — The head of the largest super PAC supporting Florida Gov. Ron Desantis‘ bid for president has quit. Chris Jankowski, CEO of Never Back Down, said his resignation was effective immediately.
The New York Times first reported the resignation.
Jankowski’s move comes amid uncertainty and infighting between the PAC and DeSantis’ campaign leaders. The latest incident occurred when attack ads that the DeSantis’ camp ran targeting United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley backfired, according to public opinion polls.
“Never Back Down’s main goal and sole focus has been to elect Gov. Ron DeSantis as president. Given the current environment it has become untenable for me to deliver on the shared goal and that goes well beyond a difference of strategic opinion,” Jankowski wrote in a statement to CBS News.
It is the latest in a string of events that have caused tension within the campaign and its PAC, including an incident last week at Never Back Down’s headquarters in Atlanta when a terse conversation between strategist Jeff Roe and DeSantis supporter Scott Wagner escalated into a shouting match over the direction the PAC was heading.
DeSantis’ allies have been critical of the PAC’s strategy and the way it has been run.
DeSantis recently secured the endorsement of Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds. The state holds the GOPs first in the nation straw poll, but DeSantis trails former President Donald Trump there and in other key states, as well. DeSantis is effectively competing with Haley for second place in the Iowa caucuses.
“For the future of our country, I support and pray Ron DeSantis is our 47th president,” Jankowski added.
PACs are typically used to pay for high-dollar media buys, including TV and radio ads that become astronomically expensive during presidential campaigns, and PACs don’t face federal limits on fundraising the way the campaigns themselves do, allowing them to raise as much money as they can and spend it as they see fit.
While prohibited from direct coordination with the presidential campaign, Never Back Down has often featured DeSantis as a “special guest” on bus tours, door knocking events and other grassroots get-out-the-vote efforts in politically sensitive states.
A separate PAC, Fight Right, was formed as an alternative to Never Back Down, and has spent about $1 million on ads attacking Haley in early caucus and primary states.
Jankowski’s departure also comes on the heels of money problems that have forced DeSantis to change campaign managers and lay off a third of his campaign staff in recent weeks.
The latest campaign reporting period shows that as of June, Never Back Down had about $97 million on hand, which is the most recent figure available.