(RepublicanNews.org) – Speculation about a Ron DeSantis presidential run has increased since the Republican Florida governor launched a book tour in February with early stops in election hotspots such as Iowa.
That speculation is sure to heat up now that the political action committee backing DeSantis said it plans to hire dozens of staff in the next few weeks. The “super PAC”, Never Back Down, told the Associated Press it is preparing to ramp up operations through Super Tuesday on March 5th.
The group said it will have staff ready to go in the first 18 U.S. states on the presidential primary schedule for Republicans. Iowa is the first state to hold GOP caucuses and is widely monitored as a bellwether for the nation. Never Back Down said it already has six staff in the state. The group says it will coordinate local organizing for a DeSantis run.
Ron DeSantis is one of the most popular U.S. governors among conservatives. He refused to institute draconian “public health” measures in Florida such as required masking or extended lockdowns, while other states were putting unprecedented restrictions on citizens during the Covid era.
He did, however, sign an order limiting the movement of Floridians except for “essential” tasks” early in the pandemic before lifting it about a month later.
DeSantis has not yet formally announced a 2024 presidential run, but it is nearly certain he will, and that means facing popular former President Donald Trump in the Republican primaries.
The on-the-ground staffing approach Never Back Down is taking has been tried by other super PACs. One group that backed Jeb Bush ahead of the 2016 presidential race put “organizing” staff in states such as New Hampshire and South Carolina. Bush’s campaign quickly lost steam with the entrance of Donald Trump into the race.
Never Back Down hopes it will do better for DeSantis. Spokeswoman Erin Perrine said the group’s staffing choices put it in a “dominant” position in early primary states.
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