The super PAC behind Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., TIM PAC, has been revealed as the leaker of the presidential contender debate memo and other material that was discovered online last August that Never Back Down prepared for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Axios reported on Monday.
The memo, which provided rare insight into the plans of DeSantis for the first Republican debate, was revealed on the website of Axiom Strategies, which worked for the Never Back Down super PAC, which was aligned with DeSantis.
The leak, which "caused major suspicion inside the DeSantis campaign — and between it and the super PAC," had been one of the biggest mysteries of the Republican primary, reporter Marc Caputo wrote in The Bulwark.
The DeSantis campaign relied heavily on super PACs, which are not permitted to coordinate with campaigns, to back his presidential ambitions.
For example, Never Back Down took on roles usually run by a campaign, such as organizing door knockers in Iowa and hiring staff across the state, according to Axios.
DeSantis and super PACs allied with him spent almost $160 million on his campaign, including $130 million from Never Back Down, funds which mainly went toward outside consulting, television advertising, and canvassing.
The total spending of the DeSantis campaign, however, was significantly less than the self-funded presidential bids in 2020 of both Michael Bloomberg and Tom Steyer.
The DeSantis campaign finished last year with $9.7 million in cash on hand, with Never Back Down ending the year with $14.5 million.
Newsmax reached out to the DeSantis campaign on this report, and it declined to comment at press time.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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