This week, President Donald Trump (R) announced his Texas Elected Leadership Team. However, even though the Lone Star state overwhelmingly voted for Trump in the 2020 election, the state could be shifting its sights towards another presidential candidate. A PAC for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) has added former Cruz campaign officials.
Jeff Roe, an American political consultant and strategist, has joined the Never Back Down PAC. The PAC was launched this month by Ken Cuccinelli, a Trump administration official who is now backing Gov. DeSantis for president.
Similarly, Roe was the chief strategist for Texas Senator Ted Cruz’s (R) 2016 presidential campaign.
Roe isn’t the only former Cruz campaign member to support DeSantis. Along with him, David Polyansky, a strategist, has joined the Never Back Down PAC, and President Trump has taken notice of this.
Taking to Truth Social, Trump shared that “Ron DeSanctimonious’ political Consultants are failing to rescue his sinking ship.” Trump further expressed that “he can’t move without them, it takes him forever to make a decision, and they’re charging him and his Globalist Donors a fortune.”
Chris Jankowski, the executive of the Never Back Down PAC, spoke to Yahoo News, clarifying that the PAC includes members that formerly worked for President Trump as well.
“Just as Gov. DeSantis built a diverse coalition to win a landslide reelection in 2022, this is a team that brings together diverse campaign, political, grassroots and Hill experience,” he explained, adding that “The way you win is by bringing the best players available to your team, and that is exactly what Never Back Down is doing. 2024 is not 2016 — it’s a new day in the Republican Party.”
Trump has directed choice words to his supporter-turned-rival DeSantis, who's largely ignored the president's comments. Most recently, Donald Trump Jr. chimed in, calling DeSantis a RINO for not getting involved in Trump's recent legal woes.
