Never Back Down Inc.

Never Back Down Inc.

Legal status	Super PAC
Leader	Ken Cuccinelli[1] Chris Jankowski[2] Kristin Davison[3] Scott Wagner[4]

Never Back Down Inc. is a single-candidate Super PAC which supported Ron DeSantis in his campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. According to OpenSecrets, the Super PAC raised $145,709,450.[5]

Description

Never Back Down began as a Super PAC to draft Ron DeSantis to compete for the Republican presidential nomination.[6] It was established by Ken Cuccinelli in February 2023. Cabell Hobbs was its treasurer, and Republican political consultant Jeff Roe was the Super PAC's chief strategist.[1] It reportedly raised $30 million between March 9 and April 3 2023,[6] but later filings showed they had only raised $23 million, primarily from Robert Bigelow.[7]

As of April 3, 2023 the Super PAC also employed Republican political consultant and strategist Jeff Roe.[6] By May 24, New Back Down had reportedly raised $40 million and was being "helm[ed]" by Roe, with Chris Jankowski as its chief executive officer,[2] Adam Laxalt as its chairman,[8] and Kristin Davison as its chief operating officer.[2] At the end of June 2023 the group and had receive donations of over $1 million from seven donors and had $97 million cash on hand,[7] including $82.5 million which had been transferred from Empower Parents PAC, DeSantis' state-level PAC.[1]

The Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission in December 2023 which argued that the transfer of funds from the state committee violated the Federal Election Campaign Act.[1][9]

CEO Chris Jankowski resigned his position on November 22, 2023 after disagreements on strategy with Roe and Scott Wagner, a board member of the organization, and was replaced by Davison.[3] Laxalt resigned as chairman on November 26[8] and was replaced by Wagner,[4] while Roe resigned on December 16.[10] Davison was fired as CEO after holding the position for nine days, and was also replaced by Wagner.[4]

Activities

In May 2023 Never Back Down outlined a plan to spend $200 million in support of DeSantis candidacy and planned to have a staff of 2,600 field organizers active by Labor Day, which was described by the New York Times as "an extraordinary number of people for even the best-funded campaigns".[2]

By August 2023 the New York Times reported that the Super PAC "[wasn't] just supplementing the campaign’s work; it [had] taken over nearly every aspect of the DeSantis campaign."[7]

The New York Times reported in February 2024 that Never Back Down spent $130 million on DeSantis' campaign,[11] which OpenSecrets reports a total expenditure of over $145 million.[5]

References

1. Christensen, Sean (2024-01-04). "Never Back Down Inc". FactCheck.org. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
2. Goldmacher, Shane; Swan, Jonathan; Haberman, Maggie (2023-05-24). "DeSantis Allies' $200 Million Plan for Beating Trump". New York Times. Retrieved 2024-11-19.
3. Haberman, Maggie; Goldmacher, Shane (2023-11-22). "DeSantis Super PAC C.E.O. Resigns". New York Times.
4. Goldmacher, Shane; Haberman, Maggie (2023-12-02). "Upheaval Continues at DeSantis Super PAC as Another Top Official Departs". New York Times. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
5. "PAC Profile: Never Back Down Inc". OpenSecrets. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
6. Haberman, Maggie (2023-04-03). "Super PAC Backing DeSantis Says It Has Raised $30 Million". New York Times. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
7. Haberman, Maggie; Goldmacher, Shane; Swan, Jonathan; Nehamas, Nicholas (2023-08-01). "DeSantis's Super PAC Burned Through $34 Million as He Slid in Polls". New York Times. Retrieved 2024-11-20.
8. Swan, Jonathan; Goldmacher, Shane; Haberman, Maggie (2023-12-01). "DeSantis Super PAC Suffers Another Big Staff Loss, This Time Its Chairman". New York Times. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
9. O'Brien, Rebecca Davis; Browning, Kellen; Nehamas, Nicholas (2023-12-13). "DeSantis Faces F.E.C. Complaint Over His Campaign's Ties With Super PAC". New York Times. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
10. Haberman, Maggie; Goldmacher, Shane; Nehamas, Nicholas; Swan, Jonathan (2023-12-16). "Jeff Roe, Top Strategist for Star-Crossed DeSantis Super PAC, Resigns". New York Times. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
11. O'Brien, Rebecca Davis; Nehamas, Nicholas (2024-02-01). "How Much Cash Did Ron DeSantis Burn Through Against Trump?". New York Times. Retrieved 2024-11-22.