Campaign finance rules blurred by super PAC backing DeSantis

WASHINGTON, D.C. (NewsNation) — As Republican presidential candidate Gov. Ron DeSantis shakes hands and makes speeches at campaign events around the country, his campaign is getting a financial boost in an unconventional way.

On DeSantis’s behalf, Never Back Down — an independent group known as a super PAC — is knocking on doors, hiring staff in key states, signing up potential supporters and recruiting endorsements. It’s an unprecedented amount of work for a group not associated with a campaign and indicates the blurring of lines around campaign finance.

Last week, DeSantis attended a reception for veterans at a VFW hall in Reno, Nevada. The week prior, he spoke to an enthusiastic crowd at a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma. However, these events were not paid for by his official campaign.

It is “pretty uncommon” for super PACs to sponsor rallies, especially for such major candidates, said Adav Noti, the Senior Vice President and Legal Director of the Campaign Legal Center — an organization that fights to lessen the influence of money in politics.

As an independent group, a super PAC can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money on behalf of a candidate. In past election cycles, super PACs have mostly concentrated their money on political ads to help campaigns from having to spend some of their own money.

However, what a super PAC cannot do is coordinate with a candidate’s campaign. Even then, candidates and parties interpret the rule differently, resulting in further blurring of lines.

“We’ve seen…candidates really pushing the envelope here, and there has been a rise in single-candidate super PACs,” said Stephen Spaulding, Vice President of Common Cause, a group dedicated to lessening the impact of special interests in government and politics.

Each of the major Republican contenders this cycle has a super PAC backing them, but “Never Back Down” has been most aggressive so far.

The New York Times reports Never Back Down is planning a $100 million voter outreach effort, with the goal of contacting every possible supporter in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina at least four times. This is part of the group’s overall $200 million estimated initial budget. They also plan on hiring staff in at least 18 states.

“We’re knocking doors. We hit our 30,000th door yesterday in Iowa. There is a long way to go on that,” Never Back Down founder Ken Cuccinelli told NewsNation in May.

“You have super PACs essentially operating as arms of campaigns — only they can take unlimited amounts of money from nearly any source,” Spaulding said.

In a statement to NewsNation, Never Back Down officials counter they are operating within the rules as they are written and will continue its aggressive outreach.

“There have been years of precedent for Super PACs hosting events and a number of other functions. There has not been a candidate that has garnered so much early grassroots support and enthusiasm like Governor Ron DeSantis. Yet, once again, the Left and mainstream media are ignoring the facts to push their political agenda. Never Back Down is committed to helping Gov. DeSantis become the next President of the United States and will continue to knock doors, canvass events, and host Never Back Down rallies for the Governor,” spokesperson Jess Szymanski said in a statement.

Last month, the Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging that DeSantis and a state political action committee, Friends of Ron DeSantis, violated federal campaign finance laws.

The complaint came after the state group transferred more than $80 million to “Never Back Down,” following a guideline change in Florida that allowed DeSantis allies to transfer money.

“Every election super PACs are willing to push the boundary,” Noti said. “Every election cycle super PACs try to use their unlimited money.”

When DeSantis made a day trip to Iowa in mid-May — before he was an official candidate — he made an unscheduled stop in Des Moines after several events in other parts of Iowa. Republican frontrunner and former president Donald Trump canceled his own trip that day citing a tornado threat.

The New York Times reported “Never Back Down” staff worked with campaign aides to quickly put together an impromptu event for DeSantis in Des Moines at a pizza parlor.

Never Back Down did not comment on the circumstances of its involvement in this stop. The DeSantis campaign did not respond to a request for comment on its relationship with Never Back Down.

This is not the first time a super PAC has pushed the envelope. In 2016, former Hewlett Packard executive and Republican candidate Carly Fiorina spoke at events sponsored by Carly for America, the group pushing her candidacy.

Campaign finance advocates argue the FEC is not enforcing its rules, which allows super PACs to operate with free reign.

“It’s time for Congress to step in and pass legislation to make clear that independent spending is supposed to be truly independent,” Common Cause’s Spaulding said.