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Longtime Republican strategist Jeff Roe resigned from the super Political action committee supporting Ron DeSantis' presidential bid, the latest personnel shakeup in the Florida governor's operation just weeks before 2024 voting begins.
Roe's departure from the Never Back Down super-PAC comes amid a slew of changes at the group, where several high-profile leaders have departed in recent weeks.
"I can't believe it ended this way. I'm so proud to have worked alongside these men and women at NBD 24/7 the past nine months to save the country. Good luck the next 28 days,” Roe said in a statement he posted late Saturday to X, formerly known as Twitter.
Scott Wagner, one of DeSantis's closest allies - a friend from Yale and an attorney in Miami - recently took over Never Back Down. He added to the leadership team Phil Cox, who helped to run DeSantis' successful 2022 gubernatorial bid.
Wagner and Cox don't get along with Roe, according to two donors. Wagner and Roe engaged in an shouting match at a Never Back Down board meeting, according to people familiar with the matter. NBC News first reported the argument.
Roe joined Never Back Down in March to much fanfare, when DeSantis seemed one of the most promising contenders within the Republican field.
Roe helped engineer Senator Ted Cruz's victory in the Iowa caucuses in 2016 and more recently, helped former private equity executive Glenn Youngkin win the Virginia's governor's race.
He was a much sought-after consultant among the 2024 GOP hopefuls, and his arrival at DeSantis's outside group added credibility to the operation.
But within months, the Florida-based DeSantis campaign and Atlanta-based Never Back Down group grew mutually suspicious and disagreed on the strategy, messaging and direction of DeSantis' presidential bid.
Because the campaign and super PAC cannot legally coordinate with one another, much of the back-and-forth played out in the press.
Iowa holds its caucuses, the first nominating contest of the 2024 presidential race, on Jan. 15.
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