Never Back Down super PAC head resigns, says its 'untenable' for him to deliver on getting DeSantis elected

On Wednesday, the head of Ron DeSantis' largest super PAC resigned, marking the latest in a string of potential setbacks to the Florida governor's presidential campaign.

While Never Back Down's Chris Jankowski admitted that he believed it was "untenable" to deliver on the super PAC's promise of getting DeSantis elected, he nonetheless maintained that there was nobody else he would rather see get elected in 2024.
 

"Never Back Down's main goal and sole focus has been to elect Gov. Ron DeSantis as president," Jankowski said in a statement. "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."

He emphasized, however, that despite his decision, "for the future of our country I support and pray Ron DeSantis is our 47th president."

As NBC reports, the staffing shakeup came on the heels of a disagreement between Never Back Down's chief strategist, Jeff Roe, and board member Scott Wagner regarding what to do about Nikki Haley, DeSantis' closest rival in the polls. 

Following the squabble, three of the governor's allies formed a second super PAC, Fight Right Inc, which has been billed as an attempt to distance him from Never Back Down, whose Haley attack ads backfired and hurt him instead.

According to the New York Times, however, the new super PAC has been described as a subsidiary of the other, with officials suggesting that the only money that would end up in the hands of Fight Right would be transferred over from Never Back Down.

"We are excited to see even more backers stepping up to support Ron DeSantis’ candidacy," campaign Communications Director Andrew Romeo said. "We've already seen tremendous value in the support of groups like Never Back Down, and adding new allies to the mix to independently help spread the governor's message will only strengthen our advantage in the important weeks and months ahead."

In recent months, DeSantis' world has been rocked by a series of high-profile staffing changes. In August, for example, his campaign manager was replaced with his gubernatorial office’s chief of staff after the former became the subject of criticism on his presidential campaign from DeSantis advisors and donors in mid-July after the campaign stalled and money coming in slowed.