Turbulence at the super PAC backing DeSantis

Dec 04, 2023

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, left, speaks during an event for his GOP presidential campaign as his wife Casey DeSantis looks on, on Friday, Dec. 1, 2023, in Prosperity, S.C. DeSantis is making a daylong swing through South Carolina, which holds the first southern Republican presidential primary of the 2024 campaign. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard)

Good morning and welcome to Monday.

Gov. Ron DeSantis is hoping he can pull off an upset in Iowa amid a fresh round of instability at the super PAC supporting him.

As of Saturday, he’d visited each of the state’s 99 counties, achieving what’s known as the “Full Grassley” after Iowa’s senior U.S. senator. As DeSantis celebrated the tour at an event in Jasper County, Iowa, two key endorsers stood beside him: Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats.

But the victory lap was overshadowed by yet another round of turmoil after POLITICO’s Alex Isenstadt scooped that Never Back Down, the super PAC backing DeSantis, fired its new CEO. Kristin Davison had only been in the job nine days before she was let go for unspecified “management and personnel issues,” in the latest sign of upheaval just six weeks before the Iowa caucuses. Davison was the organization’s third CEO in two weeks, having replaced her predecessor Chris Jankowski.

The PAC also parted ways with communications director Erin Perrine and director of operations Matt Palmisano, reported the Associated Press.

Never Back Down’s interim CEO is longtime DeSantis ally Scott Wagner. The staff shakeup came after the DeSantis campaign told Isenstadt that it was losing confidence in Never Back Down’s TV ads. The group has spent $39 million on the effort, the highest so far of any other group this cycle. Fight Right, a new pro-DeSantis super PAC that formed last month, is taking the lead on the advertising now.

DeSantis hasn’t given up on Never Back Down completely. The PAC is still running a ground game and DeSantis is set to be a Never Back Down guest in New Hampshire today. Asked what to expect next from the PAC, Jess Szymanski, spokesperson for Never Back Down, would say only that the group “has the most organized, advanced caucus operation of anyone in the 2024 primary field.”

DeSantis insisted during an interview Sunday on “Meet the Press” that he would win Iowa, but polls show he’s roughly 30 points behind former President Donald Trump and that former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley is closing in on him or even tied with him. Nationally, DeSantis is 40 points behind Trump as the legal pile-ons have caused votes to rally around the former president.

Amid the weekend chaos, DeSantis is still taking similar positions as his top nemesis. The governor said Sunday on “Meet the Press” that he agreed with Trump that Congress should replace Obamacare, formally known as the Affordable Care Act. He framed the issue of failing to repeal Obamacare as another broken promise from Trump’s first term.

There’s no policy paper out about what DeSantis' plan would look like, and the governor said he wouldn’t release it until the spring — a time when he may no longer be a presidential candidate if the polls bear out. He described his forthcoming health care plan as having “more transparency, more consumer choice, more affordable options, less red tape, less bureaucracy weighing everybody down.”

Attacking Obamacare ahead of the 2024 election is risky, and as DC Playbook wrote, the White House is issuing a memo about repeal threats today.As POLITICO’s Alice Ollstein and Robert King report, the health care law is even more popular than it was in 2017. The law is bigger than it used to be: More states allow low-income people to get government-funded coverage through Medicaid, and those who get private plans through the “exchanges” pay less than they used to after President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law to pump more federal dollars to insurers.

— WHERE’S RON? Gov. DeSantis will appear at a Never Back Down-organized event in Laconia, New Hampshire.

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... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ...

TODAY — House committee meetings on health innovation and hurricane resiliency. (Tune in.)

THIS WEEK — DeSantis is expected to unveil his budget proposal, as it’s due 30 days before session under Florida law. House Speaker Paul Renner will speak at the Capital Tiger Bay Club on Tuesday and Senate President Kathleen Passidomo is hosting a reporter briefing about her health care proposal Thursday.

FED UP — “In Florida’s hot political climate, some faculty have had enough,” reports The New York Times’ Stephanie Saul. “The Times interviewed a dozen academics — in fields ranging from law to psychology to agronomy — who have left Florida public universities or given their notice, many headed to blue states. While emphasizing that hundreds of top academics remain in Florida, a state known for its solid and affordable public university system, they raised concerns that the governor’s policies have become increasingly untenable for scholars and students.”

ENDING — “DeSantis's favorite media blog fires staff, expected to shut down before Christmas,” reports The Floridian’s Javier Manjarres. “The secretive pro-DeSantis blog, The Florida Standard, has fired all of its employees and will shutter its doors just in time for Christmas, and before Florida’s presidential primary election … The sources, who spoke to us on the condition of anonymity, said that the governor’s office propped up the website and was giving it direction through several members of DeSantis’s presidential campaign and official office.”

STARTING TOMORROW — Florida is getting a new website for applying and renewing food and health care assistance, reports the Orlando Sentinel’s Caroline Catherman. “Though the updates will address some long-standing criticisms of the state’s system, critics say this change is abrupt, nothing that many on government assistance do not have easy access to the internet. They also say that Florida is not equipped to help people troubleshoot this process.”

NO COVERAGE — “Florida’s review of Medicaid eligibility could lead to more than 250,000 uninsured, experts say,” reports the Florida Phoenix’s Jackie Llanos. “The analysis published Friday in the Health Affairs journal estimates that 169,000 adults and 84,500 children in Florida will not have insurance by spring, roughly a year after the process of reviewing people’s eligibility started.”

RECORDS FIGHT — “The Florida Department of Law Enforcement fired a deputy chief of staff days after she sought whistleblower protection and complained about alleged retaliation against an attorney who tangled with DeSantis’ aides over releasing public records,” reports News Service of Florida’s Dara Kam. “Friday’s dismissal of Patricia Carpenter, who served as deputy chief of staff at the agency for six months, came amid a shake-up of high-level staff following a contentious November meeting over the governor’s travel records.”

DeSantis’ office response: “The governor’s office has received multiple complaints of this employee creating a hostile work environment,” DeSantis’ spokesperson Jeremy Redfern said.

8-2 VOTE — Florida appeals court sides with DeSantis, reverses ruling on congressional map, reports POLITICO’s Gary Fineout. A state appeals court on Friday overturned a ruling that declared DeSantis’ congressional map unconstitutional, setting the stage for the legal battle to finally head to the conservative-leaning state Supreme Court. The map pushed by the governor dismantled the North Florida seat of former Rep. Al Lawson, a Black Democrat, and resulted in Republicans gaining four seats that helped the GOP flip the U.S. House during the 2022 midterm elections.

— “Marsy's Law fight not over after Supreme Court decision as police union vows legislative 'fix,'” reports the Tallahassee Democrats’ Jeff Burlew

PENINSULA AND BEYOND

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OVERWHELMED SYSTEM — “Central Florida foster care agency failed to pay bills, caused kids to sleep in offices, suit says,” reports the Orlando Sentinel’s Annie Martin. “Embrace Families, the lead agency for foster care in Central Florida, is being sued by a contractor that says the nonprofit owes it more than $1.3 million for services it provided, including for children who had to sleep in the contractor’s offices because space was not available in foster homes.”

TRANS STUDENTS IN SPORTS — “Monarch High transgender athlete: What to know about the law at center of controversy,” by the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Anthony Man. “Legally, the participation of a transgender athlete on the girls’ volleyball team at Monarch High school seems clear cut: It’s against Florida law … But what appears unambiguous isn’t necessarily the final word. Federal law, and regulations based on federal law, also play a role — and may protect a transgender player from discrimination based on gender identity.”

CAMPAIGN MODE

Roger Stone appears before former President Donald Trump arrives to announce he is running for president for the third time at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

BOOK EXCERPT — “How Roger Stone convinced Trump not to attack Ron DeSantis in his home state,” by NBC News’ Matt Dixon. “The idea of Stone talking any politician, much less Trump, out of a political knife fight might seem surprising considering that he is among history’s most pugilistic political advisers — and considering his infamous hatred of DeSantis. But on that night, Stone represented the voice of reason. ‘At the end of the day, [Stone] loves President Trump more than he hates Ron DeSantis,’ an adviser said.”

RELEASED — Search warrant provides new details of rape accusation against Florida Republican Party chair, by POLITICO’s Kimberly Leonard. The woman accusing Republican Party of Florida Chair Christian Ziegler of rape told him over Instagram messages that she was distraught and “terrified” of him after their encounter and unable to work, according to a search warrant affidavit.

The affidavit also revealed that Ziegler’s wife, Bridget Ziegler, who co-founded the conservative parents group Moms for Liberty, acknowledged to police that she, the victim and her husband had consensual sex together over a year before the alleged crime occurred, per an interview police conducted Nov. 1. The details of the warrant were first reported by the Orlando Sentinel.

MAIL ORDER — “How religion plays into DeSantis' public image — from 'armor of God' to a Bible ordered on Amazon,” reports NBC News’ Matt Dixon. “DeSantis has made courting conservative evangelical voters a central part of his bid for president. He has invested considerable resources in Iowa, where those voters are a key part of the Republican base. And he has taken up the mantle of a culture warrior, signing a six-week abortion ban and leaning into social issues popular with the religious right. But his own faith has not played prominently in his public image, in contrast to some other politicians.”

DATELINE D.C.

MOVING OUT — “DeSantis promises ‘first dibs’ on Department of Agriculture to Iowa if he wins the presidency,” reports Florida Politics’ A.G. Gancarski. “DeSantis said ‘a number of people said that they don’t like USDA Washington bureaucrats interfering with how people are farming and they would much rather have this agency be run with people from their own communities.’ Moreover, it’s consistent with his pitch to ‘reduce (Cabinet Agency) footprints in D.C. by at least 50 percent.’”

BIPARTISAN — 6 Florida Republicans vote to expel George Santos, reports POLITICO’s Lawrence Ukenye. Reps. Daniel Webster, Neal Dunn, Mario Díaz-Balart, Scott Franklin and Carlos A. Giménez joined 306 House lawmakers to boot Santos. Rep. John Rutherford (R-Fla.), who voted present in last month's vote, also supported the measure.

ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN

— DeSantis slammed the College Football Playoff committee for excluding Florida State University from playoffs, reports The Messenger’s Eva Surovell

BIRTHDAYS: Former Rep. Francis Rooney … (Was Sunday) Jackie Llanos of the Florida Phoenix

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