Pro-DeSantis super PAC fires top officials as tumult continues

Weeks of tumult at the chief super PAC supporting Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis continued into the weekend as it fired several top officials — including its new interim chief executive officer.

The group, Never Back Down, fired Kristin Davison on Friday for unspecified “management and personnel issues” just nine days after she replaced Chris Jankowski as CEO, according to two people familiar with the decision. Erin Perrine, a Never Back Down spokesperson, and Matthew Palmisano, another top official, were also fired, according to a person familiar with the decisions.

An internal email sent Saturday night said the super PAC had named longtime DeSantis ally Scott Wagner as interim CEO. Wagner is also replacing former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt as board chair.

The shake-ups began as tensions boiled over in recent weeks. Jankowski left on Nov. 22; Laxalt resigned four days later. Davison’s firing came five days after that, according to the two people, who were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss personnel changes.

It was not immediately clear whether others had also split with the super PAC.

Davison, Perrine, and Palmisano did not respond to requests for comment. Representatives for Never Back Down referred POLITICO to Wagner’s Saturday night email. Perrine’s dismissal was first reported by Semafor, and Palmisano’s by The Associated Press.

The continued disruptions come amid widespread infighting inside the super PAC and ongoing conflict with the Florida governor’s campaign. Last week, NBC News reported on a near-physical altercation between Wagner and top Never Back Down strategist Jeff Roe.

The DeSantis campaign believes Never Back Down’s TV ads have been ineffective, those close to the governor say, and campaign manager James Uthmeier this week issued a memo implicitly suggesting the group instead focus on waging a get-out-the vote program.

As turmoil roiled Never Back Down, DeSantis allies formed a new super PAC, Fight Right. Never Back Down had been the only pro-DeSantis group — taking on more campaign functions than most super PACs normally do — and the creation of the new group raised questions about Never Back Down’s role moving forward.

DeSantis continues to trail far behind former President Donald Trump in the race for the GOP nomination, and polls show the governor, once considered a possible strong competitor to Trump, instead locked in a battle for second place with former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley.

In the wake of Uthmeier’s memo, Never Back Down decided to focus on field deployment in the run-up to the Jan. 15 Iowa caucus, those familiar with the discussions said. Fight Right, meanwhile, will focus on TV advertising.

“I and the entire board look forward to continuing to work with the whole Never Back Down team to double down on its core mission of running the biggest and best ground game in modern American politics,” Wagner wrote in the memo Saturday.

Representatives for the DeSantis campaign did not respond to a request for comment Saturday.