The Facts
Jeff Roe, chief strategist for Never Back Down, the lead super PAC supporting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis during his run for the Republican presidential nomination, resigned on Saturday.
In a statement posted to X, Roe called DeSantis an “exceptional governor” who he hopes will win the presidency, and he wished the DeSantis campaign “the best.”
The Spin
Democratic narrative
It’s hard to believe that at one point, Republicans were looking to detach their party from Trump and that DeSantis was going to be their standard-bearer. But DeSantis’ campaign never gained the expected traction, despite some potentially illegal coordination between the campaign and Never Back Down. This super PAC shakeup confirms that if anyone’s going to stop Trump from winning the nomination, it won’t be DeSantis.
Republican narrative
Dating back to his time running Sen. Ted Cruz’s failed bid for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination, Roe has had a losing track record. So Never Back Down made a mistake of putting him in charge, and DeSantis greatly erred by focusing so much on Iowa and counting heavily on a super PAC. Assuming DeSantis’ campaign is close to its end, it should serve as a lesson to future Republican candidates that relying on a super PAC is an outdated campaign model.
