MANCHESTER, NH – EXCLUSIVE – Ken Cuccinelli, a former top Trump official, says “the mission” of a recently formed super-PAC he heads is to help Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis get “a much faster start” when he gets his candidacy for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.
Cuccinelli, a former Virginia attorney general and 2013 GOP gubernatorial nominee who later served as deputy director of homeland security during the last two years of former President Donald Trump’s administration, last week launched the “Never Back Down PAC.”
While Cuccinelli has been a strong supporter of some of Trump’s harsh and controversial immigration policies during his tenure in the nation’s capital, he spoke about DeSantis to voters in Iowa, the state that kicks off the Republican presidential nomination calendar, on Wednesday and Thursday and Friday and Thursday. On Saturday he was in New Hampshire, where the second game will be held. Cuccinelli met with influential Republicans in both early voting states.
“The mission is to engage as many individuals as possible, especially influential ones, to learn about those two states and to introduce Governor DeSantis to these communities in more detail,” Cuccinelli said Friday in an exclusive national interview with Fox news.
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“As you would expect, Republicans across the country have their own idea of who Governor DeSantis is. But no one knows everything. I don’t know everything. But I can give them a lot more detail and a lot more information about his views, about his life story , about how he’s functioned so successfully as governor of Florida, where I think he’s been the best president we’ve had at the gubernatorial or presidential level in decades,” Cuccinelli stressed. “And that’s really his calling card. People are really impressed with how well he’s done. So we try to give people an organizational focus early in the race.”
Cuccinelli said he’s “trying to provide an organizational center with the super PAC so people can start preparing if he (DeSantis) decides to come in, which seems likely … that we’ve already prepared the ground for him and he “He’ll have a much quicker start than he otherwise could have.”
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DeSantis has seen his popularity soar among conservatives across the country over the past three years due to his strong opposition to coronavirus pandemic restrictions and his aggressive actions as a culture warrior who went after the media, corporations and teacher unions. The governor won a landslide 19-point victory in November’s governor’s reelection, and in recent speeches he has emphasized that his policy victories in Florida can serve as a roadmap for the entire nation.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks at a campaign event on Friday, March 10, 2023 in Davenport, Iowa. (AP Photo/Ron Johnson) ((AP Photo/Ron Johnson))
Sources in the broader DeSantis political sphere have said any presidential campaign launches will occur in late spring or early summer, after the end of the current legislature. However, the governor’s latest itinerary to the states of Iowa and Nevada with early voting and a trip next month to New Hampshire – first reported by Fox News – is fueling speculation about an increasingly likely White House run.
The governor is also touring the country to highlight his “Florida Blueprint” and promote his recently released memoir, “The Courage to Be Free.” And while he currently remains on the sidelines of 2024, DeSantis has topped just about every poll from early 2024, slightly behind Trump — who launched his third White House campaign in November — and well ahead of the rest of the field of current and potential Republican presidential candidates.
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Super PACs, also known as independent spend-only committees, are legally allowed to raise unlimited funds from corporations, unions, associations, and individuals, and to spend unlimited funds to support or oppose political candidates. Unlike traditional PACs, long-standing federal rules prohibit them from coordinating or directly contributing to a candidate or candidate’s campaign.
Two existing super PACs — titled “Ready for Ron” and “Ron to the Rescue” — not affiliated with DeSantis or his political circle are already active and raising money as they push the governor to launch a presidential campaign. launch. But sources in the broader DeSantis political sphere have described those groups as “a grift — plain and simple.”
Two sources familiar with the thinking in DeSantis’ political world told Fox News last week that “Never Back Down PAC” would likely get the governor’s blessing if he moved forward and ran for the White House. House.
Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event on Monday, March 13, 2023 in Davenport, Iowa. (AP Photo/Ron Johnson) (AP)
Asked by Fox News why he didn’t support his former boss, Cuccinelli said, “Don’t read what I’m doing here as anti-anyone, including anti-Trump. Change the fact that Ron DeSantis is the A-plus candidate in this race. He is, in my opinion, head and shoulders above all other options for America. And that’s how I decide.”
“This isn’t just anything. This is (sort of) what’s best for America,” Cuccinelli said. “Other people may come to different conclusions. But I’ve been thinking about this for months. I’ve talked to people in over half the states, everyday people… I get a lot of the same reactions.”
Cuccinelli said he told Trump about his plans to form a pro-DeSantis super PAC, explaining that “we texted back and forth. He texted me the night before we announced it, which tells me that probably wasn’t a coincidence. was kind and I was very open with him about what I was doing and why in simple terms.”
“I haven’t heard anything since then,” he added.
Trump and his allies have increasingly focused on DeSantis in recent weeks, and Cuccinelli’s super-PAC may eventually be dragged into the political crossfire.
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“You never sit back when you’re ravaged,” he noted.
But referring to DeSantis’ attempts to largely ignore Trump’s attacks, Cuccinelli said, “I think Governor DeSantis showed the way to deal with that by pointing to the record. Scoreboard. He was a baseball player. Point to the scoreboard. Whether it’s COVID or whether it’s an opportunity for businesses, keeping kids in school. He has a spectacular track record, often contradicting what happened in Washington, including in the Trump administration.”
Paul Steinhauser is a political reporter from New Hampshire.
