Ron DeSantis & Super PAC Spent Over $160 Million During His Campaign, $7,100 Per Vote He Received

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis‘ campaign and his main super PAC Never Back Down spent more than $160 million during the course of his presidential candidacy.

The governor and Never Back Down directed $53 million through firms controlled or owned by Jeff Roe, the Republican strategist who served as the group’s top adviser.

They spent $31.3 million on television advertising time and $3.3 million on private jets between the campaign and super PAC.

They donated almost $110,000 to the campaigns of state and federal elected officials who endorsed DeSantis.

All for 23,420 votes in Iowa.

Most of the money – $130 million – was spent by Never Back Down, and DeSantis’s campaign spent another $28 million. This costly flop produced insignificant results, and DeSantis chose to drop out prior to the New Hampshire primary and endorse Donald Trump.

However, their efforts tested the limits of campaign finance law.

Never Back Down took a unique role in managing the Florida governor’s campaign, even though campaigns and super PACs cannot coordinate their strategies.

DeSantis handed over many duties traditionally overseen by campaign officials — like arranging events and organizing get-out-the-vote efforts — to this outside group.

Key decisions were then left in the hands of super PAC leaders, and not DeSantis’s close circle of trusted advisers.

Tensions between Never Back Down and the campaign sparked negative news stories sometimes overshadowing the governor’s candidacy, specifically among wealthy donors.

By the time DeSantis entered the race in late May 2023, Never Back Down had a war chest of nearly $120 million, including more than $80 million left over from the former candidate’s re-election as Florida’s governor. During his first six weeks as a candidate, his campaign also raised over $20 million. Unlike campaigns, super PACs can accept unlimited amounts of money from donors, making them a vehicle for the ultrawealthy to support candidates.

Never Back Down planned a $100 million ground game to mobilize voters across America, including a large voter-outreach push which would deploy paid door-knockers to reach out to possible DeSantis voters in the early nominating states. The super PAC promised to raise $200 million.

The governor insisted on flying on private aircraft, a habit that he picked up during his time in Tallahassee. This habit was unsustainable for a candidate who had not been independently wealthy.

His campaign spent beyond its means during the opening weeks, causing a reshuffling and deep staff cuts in July 2023.

According to records, Never Back Down, which was also laying out huge sums of money, picked up most of the slack, like footing the bill for DeSantis’s flights.

Roe was a central figure in the DeSantis candidacy. Sometimes, he had drawn unwanted publicity to the campaign, and was a target of mockery by Trump’s surrogates.

He left Never Back Down in December 2023, which is when the group collapsed.

Never Back Down also privately sent $2.75 million to Win It Back, a super PAC supported by the Club for Growth, an influential conservative anti-tax group. Around the time that this happened, Win It Back had run a series of anti-Trump advertisements. This contribution was not disclosed until DeSantis dropped out of the race.

Win It Back ultimately pulled the ads, saying it had discovered they were not popular with Republican voters.

Another of DeSantis’s committees, Great American Comeback, was used to show his gratitude to several politicians who endorsed him at the risk of angering Trump. They donated over $110,000 to these officials. More than 12 Iowa state legislators were also given contributions.

In spite of everything, DeSantis’s fundraising had been slowing down while his poll numbers decreased and his weak moments as a candidate grew. 

DeSantis’s campaign raised less money in each quarter of 2023. Never Back Down raised only $14.5 million in the second half of this year.

DeSantis charged Trump with “massive gaslighting” in the campaign, but weeks later, he was out of the race.

Before DeSantis was out of the race, officials associated with Never Back Down were out of sync with his campaign, and eventually resigned or had been fired.

The super PAC’s top strategists swore and nearly began fighting one another in private meetings.

One day after DeSantis dropped out and endorsed Trump, he declared that he would veto a bill in the state legislature which would have Florida taxpayers foot the bill for his legal costs.

He promised to veto a bill from Republican State Sen. Ileana Garcia, which would authorize spending $5 million from Florida’s state budget to cover Trump’s legal costs.