ATLANTA, GEORGIA — After criticizing efforts to skew primary rules in Nevada and other states in favor of former President Trump, the DeSantis-backing super PAC Never Back Down says they are suspending grassroots efforts in those states. Instead, the organization will concentrate its efforts on the first three primary states.
“Nevada is heading to a lawsuit,” Never Back Down Communications Director Erin Perrine tells The Florida Standard, calling Nevada GOP Chairman Michael McDonald a “Trump puppet” for the way he’s conducting the caucus/primary.
“When you have that kind of uncertainty about how the election’s going to be conducted – that becomes a pretty unstable environment to be investing the kind of resources that we’re investing,” Perrine said.
AN UNFAIR ADVANTAGE?
The super PAC said both Nevada and California have set up an unfair advantage for Trump and confirmed that it has suspended its door-knocking operations in those states.
“We want to reinvest in the first three,” Perrine said. “We see real opportunities in the first three. The first three are going to set the conditions for the March states.”
The Democratic-controlled legislature in Nevada changed its presidential primary process, eliminating traditional caucuses. But the Nevada Republican Party has pushed back, vowing to hold a party-run caucus anyway, two days after the state-run primary, sparking a legal challenge.
“TRUMP-INSPIRED RIGGING”
Perrine said a similar change in California to a proportional, statewide winner-take-all race eliminates grassroots campaigning opportunities and creates a primary in Trump’s favor, making it less likely that an opponent could beat him.
“They eliminated the California Republicans’ say in their own primary,” Perrine said, calling the move a “Trump-inspired rigging.” Still, the committee will hold a convention in September that may bring more changes.
The Los Angeles Times reported in July that the GOP’s changes in California – backed by the Trump Campaign – may make the state less competitive in March. In the past, delegates were awarded by congressional districts. Now, the candidate who wins over 50 percent of the vote will take all 169 delegates – the most of any state.
The super PAC said they will continue to support political teams on the ground across all Super Tuesday states, noting that door-knockers have already completed targeted neighborhoods and will likely return after the new year.
