WASHINGTON – A political action committee that supports Ron DeSantis for president is financing television ads in four early voting states, another sign that the Florida governor will soon declare his 2024 candidacy.
The committee called Never Back Down produced the biographical ads that target four states that vote at the start of the Republican nomination process: Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada.
The ads, which are basically the same but tailored for each individual state, are set in a steel mill and portray DeSantis as a “conservative warrior” who has “blue collar roots.”
They promote DeSantis’ experience as a member of Congress and governor who has fought “the swamp” and so-called “woke” policies that promote diversity, equity and inclusion in schools and workplaces.
“Ron DeSantis never backs down,” say the ads reviewed by USA TODAY.
DeSantis, who is on a foreign trip next week to Asia, Israel, and the United Kingdom, is expected to announce his 2024 decision shortly after the May adjournment of the Florida legislature.
In recent weeks, DeSantis has seen slipping poll numbers amid attacks by former President Donald Trump and other Republicans on his qualifications to be president.
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Never Back Down described its plan as “a seven-figure ad buy,” but did not identify the stations where the ads would run. The Iowa ad is expected to run on national cable programs.
Erin Perrine, communications director at Never Back Down, said “most Americans don’t know about Governor DeSantis’ personal story,” and the ads are designed to give voters “a sense of who Ron DeSantis really is.”
The four ads are changed slightly by inserting video of landmarks from the individual states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada.
These pro-DeSantis ads do not critique Trump, who has rebuilt a lead in Republican polls despite his indictment in New York City.
Trump has also promoted a series of endorsements from Florida lawmakers who opted to endorse him rather than DeSantis.
In a video last week, Trump said the DeSantis candidacy “will only hurt and somewhat divide the Republican Party, which we don’t need.”
