Team DeSantis is all-in on an Iowa Caucus victory next month, but a deeply reported story in the Associated Press implies the Florida governor may be in election legal hot water for steering the moves of his well-funded super PAC.
Gov. Ron DeSantis as a candidate has been on a tireless tear through Iowa, personally visiting all 99 counties, notching endorsements from Gov. Kim Reynolds and a prominent religious leader Bob Vander Plaats.
But the AP paints a picture that internal strife and ship-jumping has led to DeSantis and his wife, Casey, meddling with the deep-pocketed super PAC, Never Back Down.
Specifically, it was reported that Florida's first couple erupted after the super PAC pulled a TV ad that knocked GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley for embracing Chinese industry.
The specifics focused on shading her for welcoming a fiberglass company plunking $300 million investment to build a plant in Columbia, S.C., during her governorship, according to CBS News.
DeSantis’ team aired grievances over their Never Back Down's "messaging concerns" directly with board members, according to the AP, citing multiple anonymous sources.
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The outlet ran the scenario by Adav Noti, legal director for the Campaign Legal Center, who deduced that the ties between DeSantis' team and Never Back Down goes “too far” and may attract the scrutiny from the Federal Election Commission.
“To actually have a conversation with the candidate’s agents and the super PAC’s agents about strategy — there is no plausible argument that that is legal,” Noti added. “This is not a gray area.”
DeSantis didn't directly respond to the allegations other than to say he rarely watches television and so he hasn't yet seen the Never Back Down ads.
“I don’t see them, to be honest with you," he told reporters. "I don’t watch a lot of TV. So, I don’t know. I can’t really speak to that."