NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 The top strategist for the embattled super PAC backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ' campaign for the White House resigned Saturday night in the latest sign of trouble for the GOP hopeful less than one month before voting begins with Iowa's kickoff caucuses.
Jeff Roe, the top adviser to , is the latest senior staffer to exit , which has been the largest outside group supporting DeSantis鈥 candidacy.
He announced his departure on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, hours after focused on internal disputes and suspicions between Never Back Down, the campaign, and other DeSantis allies that included accusations of 鈥渕ismanagement and conduct issues, including numerous unauthorized leaks containing false information.鈥
鈥淚 can鈥檛 believe it ended this way," Roe wrote on X, sharing a statement in which he said he 鈥渃annot in good conscience stay affiliated with Never Back Down given the statements鈥 in the story, which he said were false.
Numerous senior members of Never Back Down in recent weeks, including two chief executives, the group's chairman and its communications director. At the same time, DeSantis鈥 Florida allies have created a new super PAC, Fight Right, which had earned the public blessing of the DeSantis campaign.
The Associated Press on growing concern among some within DeSantis鈥 operation that interactions between his campaign and his network of outside groups were blurring the lines of what鈥檚 legally permissible.
Super PACs are legally barred from directly coordinating with campaigns. But multiple people familiar with DeSantis鈥 political network said that he and his wife had expressed concerns about Never Back Down's messaging as his Iowa poll numbers stagnated 鈥 concerns DeSantis鈥 team then shared with members of Never Back Down鈥檚 board, according to multiple people briefed on the discussions who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share internal discussions.
Some of the board members then relayed the DeSantis team鈥檚 wishes to super PAC staff, which was responsible for executing strategy, the people said. DeSantis鈥 campaign has denied any wrongdoing.
Never Back Down had taken an unprecedented role in the election, overseeing functions normally handled by campaigns. The group was charged with organizing voters through a massive door-knocking and get-out-the-vote operation, organizing campaign, as well as advertising, and has spent tens of millions of dollars on commercials this year.
ran Texas Sen. Ted Cruz鈥檚 2016 presidential campaign, which beat former President Donald Trump in that year鈥檚 Iowa caucuses, and also worked as an adviser on . But he had little preexisting relationship before this year with DeSantis, who has long struggled to maintain close relationships with political consultants.
DeSantis has staked his campaign on Iowa, where Trump is leading by wide margins in recent polls.
The super PAC was seeded with more than $80 million from DeSantis鈥 political accounts this spring.
