The super PAC supporting Gov. Ron DeSantis's (R-FL) 2024 presidential bid is planning a multimillion-dollar fall ad buy in Iowa and New Hampshire, with roughly five months until the all-important Iowa Republican caucuses.
Coming off of what Never Back Down considers a strong Republican National Committee debate performance by DeSantis, it is preparing a $25 million television ad buy in the two states. The TV spots will be purchased to run between Labor Day and Halloween.
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The group expects to place the initial $13 million in reservations as soon as Friday, and it is planning additional ad purchases for New Hampshire.
As the fall begins, the ad buy's total could increase further as the PAC analyzes the effect of previous ads, the earliest of which started in April.
The news of the expected ad purchases, as reported by the Washington Post, comes days after the RNC debate. After the event, DeSantis's campaign raised over $1 million in 24 hours. "People were very happy and excited by his showing," Hal Lambert, a DeSantis surrogate and the CEO of Point Bridge Capital, told ABC News of donor response.
Also following the debate, surveyed Republican voters declared the Florida governor the winner. In a Washington Post / FiveThirtyEight / Ipsos poll conducted directly after the event, 29% said DeSantis performed the best. In second place was Vivek Ramaswamy with 26%.
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But DeSantis will have to contend with a widening gap between him and former President Donald Trump, who did not attend the debate. DeSantis is now in second in both Iowa and New Hampshire among primary voters, with 17% and 13% support, respectively, according to the RealClearPolitics polling average. Trump has 43% and 44% support in those states.
Sen. Tim Scott's (R-SC) super PAC, Trust in the Mission or TIMPAC, was the first to reserve fall airtime earlier this month. TIMPAC made a $40 million reservation for TV and digital ads throughout the fall. The ad reservations are for Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, where three of the nation's earliest caucuses and primaries will take place in 2024.