DeSantis PAC CEO out in latest shakeup

Never Back Down – the super PAC supporting Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis – has parted ways with its interim chief executive officer after she served nine days on the job.

Kristin Davison replaced former CEO Chris Jankowski on Nov. 22. Jankowski said in a statement through a group spokesperson that “it has become untenable for me to deliver on the shared goal and that goes well beyond a difference of strategic opinion.”

Davison has not commented on her departure from the organization.

Scott Wagner will now fill two roles, the organization’s chairman and CEO. Wagner, a longtime DeSantis ally, was a member of the super PAC’s board, the group’s spokesperson Jessica Szymanski said in an emailed statement.

Davison’s departure is the latest in the super PAC’s shakeups.

Former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt (R) also recently stepped down, leaving his position as the group’s chair on Friday. He said he spent “nearly 26 straight months of being in a full-scale campaign” and needed to return his attention to his family and law practice.

Despite the staffing changes, the organization insists it “has the most organized, advanced caucus operation of anyone in the 2024 primary field.”

“We look forward to continuing that great work to help elect Gov. DeSantis the next President of the United States,” Szymanski’s statement said.

The GOP presidential campaigns are nearing the final stretch ahead of the Iowa caucuses in January.

DeSantis is in Iowa campaigning this weekend, fulfilling his promise to visit each of the state’s 99 counties.

DeSantis earned the official backing of Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds early last month after she credited him for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in Florida and championed him as “one of the most effective leaders” she had ever seen.