Ron DeSantis meets with possible super PAC donors

According to a memo sent on Monday morning by DeSantis’s campaign manager, James Uthmeier, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis will meet with wealthy Republicans this week to try to solidify their support for the newest political action committee Fight Right, a recently established super PAC that is supporting his presidential bid.

Ron DeSantis meets with possible super PAC donors

According to their website, “Fight Right exists for one purpose: to shed light on the failed records and leadership of Governor DeSantis’ opponents,”

This comes after conflicts with another super PAC that culminated in the departure of the organization’s CEO last week.

Fight Right was founded earlier this month by allies of DeSantis. DeSantis adviser David Dewhirst, DeSantis appointee Jeff Aaron and DeSantis-linked lobbyist Scott Ross are among the directors of Fight Right.

According to sources, there was a rift in the political team about how to counter former governor of South Carolina Nikki Haley’s surge in the polls as she attempts to become the front-runner against Trump.

The DeSantis campaign was shaken up late in the race when Fight Right started running attack advertisements against rising presidential opponent Nikki Haley last week.

Previously, Never Back Down had released its own advertisements targeting Nikki Haley, the former UN ambassador, but they were pulled from the air lately due to concerns that the negative spots would negatively impact DeSantis because of his strong ties to that super PAC.

Former Never Back Down CEO Chris Jankowski announced his resignation last week, citing issues that went “well beyond a difference of strategic opinion” and that the atmosphere had grown “untenable” for him.

James Uthmeier also noted that while the campaign would applaud Fight Right’s efforts, it would also like to acknowledge Never Back Down’s “incredible field operation and ground game,” which has contributed significantly to DeSantis’s 2024 presidential bid.

Uthmeier said Fight Right will “devote full attention to fighting for Ron DeSantis through powerful TV advertising.”

Uthmeier added, “In the final push for the Iowa Caucus victory, this campaign will proudly fight alongside NBD’s impressive ground game and Fight Right’s television team to show the people of Iowa that this is a time for choosing.”

Uthmeier stated that he “welcomes the independent efforts” of the new super PAC to provide “welcomed air support.”

Uthmeier outlined an ideal plan in the memo for the last two months before voting begins: Fight Right takes the airwaves, and the campaign and Never Back Down work the ground.

The campaign cannot legally coordinate with the groups, but the vision statement expresses to them directly how they can support the campaign’s activities.

According to an anonymous source, DeSantis is scheduled to meet with potential Fight Right backers on Monday in Palm Beach, Florida.

Since the summer, Haley’s numbers have steadily risen in state, and national polls, and the governor is losing ground, so the two are now competing for a far-off second position behind Donald Trump.

Based on the most recent national polling average from 538, DeSantis leads Haley by about 12% to 10%.

According to 538’s averages, DeSantis trails only Haley for second place in Iowa. Still, he has dropped to fourth place in New Hampshire, behind Trump, Haley, and former governor of New Jersey Chris Christie.