DeSantis Loses Control of His Super PAC

Playbook: “Behind the scenes, there are serious doubts whether the layoffs will do anything to address a fundamental weakness of DeSantis’ presidential bid: the rising tension and distrust brewing between his campaign and the main super PAC supporting him, Never Back Down.”

“The disconnect has occasionally come into view, such as when super PAC sources told RealClear Politics recently that they expected DeSantis to skip the upcoming GOP debate if Trump does. Yet a few days later, DeSantis said he planned to attend.”

“Beyond the peripheral disputes, however, is a more fundamental disagreement over who should truly be in charge: the nominal campaign, which is under the direct control of the candidate and his closest advisers, or the super PAC, which can accept massive checks from wealthy donors but is barred from coordinating with DeSantis or the campaign.”

“Because they can’t legally sit down and talk it out, the two poles of DeSantis world have instead tried to communicate through leaked memos and — more recently — testy background quotes in the media.”