Never Back Down spox backs away from Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign
Steve Cortes and Ron DeSantis. Image courtesy Twitter @CortesSteve.

Cortes DeSantis
Steve Cortes joined the pro-DeSantis effort in May, but bailed out just months later.

A spokesman for a super PAC supporting Ron DeSantis has left the official position, though he’s still backing the Florida Governor’s 2024 presidential bid.

As first reported by Maggie Haberman of The New York Times, Never Back Down spokesman Steve Cortes has moved on from the committee, with which he linked up back in May.

In an op-ed published by Newsweek, Cortes called DeSantis “the best possible option to win the presidency in 2024 and to govern as a highly capable, patriotic populist leader.”

His most memorable moment may have been during a Twitter space earlier this year where he praised the Donald Trump campaign and suggested DeSantis was  losing to the former President.

“To that point of the Primaries too, because I think this is important. Look, right now in national polling, we are way behind. I’ll be the first to admit that. OK?” Cortes said in July. “It’s an uphill battle. I don’t think it’s an unwinnable battle by any stretch, OK? But clearly Donald Trump is the runaway front-runner, particularly since the indictments.”

Cortes said the campaign was “down double digits” with “work to do” and “wood to chop.”

In the three months since, however, the Governor has lost ground in polls, finding himself eclipsed by not just Trump but also Nikki Haley in South Carolina and New Hampshire surveys.

The former spokesman also expressed doubt that DeSantis could match up with Trump in debates, an irony given that the former President has skipped both nationally televised forums so far. He called Trump the “maestro” of debates, saying Trump “debates like Jack Nicklaus plays golf,” and acknowledging that would present a challenge to DeSantis.

“Is Ron the debater that Donald Trump is? No, he isn’t,” Cortes said, adding that increased “reps” are making DeSantis “better and better” at “succeeding on his feet,” preparing him to go “toe to toe” with Trump.

A.G. Gancarski

A.G. Gancarski has been the Northeast Florida correspondent for Florida Politics since 2014. His work also can be seen in the Washington Post, the New York Post, the Washington Times, and National Review, among other publications. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter: @AGGancarski


34 comments

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  • Ocean Joe

    October 10, 2023 at 4:38 pm

    Will Earl abandon him next?

    • Earl Pitts "The Earl Of Politics" American

      October 10, 2023 at 6:18 pm

      Never my Besty Lefty,
      This presser in the artical above is yet another little bit of comfort food “political look here-dont look there” for the Dook 4 Brains brain-trust behind the curtian (Hello Barak). Guranteed to give them the comfort of “relaxing their sphincters” and diverting their thoughts away from “The Ronald” to allow them the freedom to engage in more comfort activities, such as boning their lovely wives on the regular once again.
      Meanwhile the “Earl of Politics” plans race full speed ahead, unseen and unknown, just below the surface.
      So late in the 2024 political horse race when I, “The Earl of Politics” make that call to “The Donald” on an end of the news cycle Friday – the entire weekend for the Dook 4 Brains brain-trust behind the curtian (Hello Barak) will be spent in the bedroom with his lovely wife totally un-pluged from the political manuverings of “The Earl of Politics”.
      My late Friday call to The Donald will instruct him to legally stay in the race as a candiate *but at the same time* order his loyal supporters to cast their votes for Desantis.
      Just between you and me, Ocean Joe, my Besty Lefty, The Donald really wants to back away from politics and spend more quality time doing the things that he really loves, such as boning his lovely wife more on the regular.
      These are some of the elements of politics, not taught in the classroom, which an ordinary candidate, or the man behind the curtian (hello Brack) will never think of and thus have no tools in their political tool box or in their minds to even think of … much less react to.
      Thanks my Besty Lefty,
      Earl Pitts “The Earl Of Politics” American
      *FREE BUMPER STICKER*
      *RELAX YOUR SPHINCTERS WITH EARL – AMERICA*

      • Rick Whitaker

        October 10, 2023 at 8:25 pm

        caution troll comment

      • Ocean Joe

        October 11, 2023 at 5:23 am

        Earl, not to worry. When it happens we will all be here for you.

        • Earl Pitts "The Earl Of Politics" American

          October 11, 2023 at 6:06 am

          Thank you my Besty Lefty,
          Just to prepare you for what the future holds:
          I’ve already got you on the short list for our Ambassador appointments. So be thinking about which nation you would like to serve in as an Ambassador under the upcoming Desantis administration. And OJ in case you did not know, Rick W., works for me and part of his job is to rabble-rouse the leftist mob to increase public intetest in me, Earl Pitts “The Earl Of Politics” so go easy on Rick, hes just doing his job of getting my name inside hundreds of heads each day.
          Thanks OJ,
          EPA

          • Rick Whitaker

            October 11, 2023 at 3:47 pm

            caution troll comment

  • Rick Whitaker

    October 10, 2023 at 8:25 pm

    what the heck is cortes talking about. trump can’t debate at all. all he does is posture and ramble. he doesn’t have a position or definable agenda.. he just employs chaos and bullies. to call him the jack nicklaus of debating is ridiculous. no wonder desantis is going down the drain with people like cortes backing him.

    • Wilson Montana

      October 10, 2023 at 10:06 pm

      You obviously know nothing about Donald Trump

      • Rick Whitaker

        October 11, 2023 at 3:57 pm

        i know he’s a liar, cheat , racist, narcissistic, dumb, fat, bully, sadistic, phoney, criminal, tax fraud, traitor, insecure, disloyal, rapist, and inane. you’re obviously wrong because i have just showed you, i know him well. based on your comment, you are a maga cultist so you don’t know fact from fiction. vote for him again and see how that works out

    • Charles Bowman

      October 10, 2023 at 10:30 pm

      I agreed totally with your sentiment! Trump has some strengths but debating sure isn’t one of them. Even Slow Joe got the best of him in one of the 2020 debates.
      It’s hard for me to figure out why DeSsntis is not getting more traction at this point. Trump is tracking further to the left all the time. No way I could vote for him again. He’s not trustworthy in any way to me.

      • Rick Whitaker

        October 11, 2023 at 8:01 am

        please don’t fall for the concept that the left is bad. the maga cult, including desantis, now that’s bad. biden is not slow minded and he has PROVEN to be a great leader despite joe mansions betrayal holding him back.

      • ADRIAN

        October 11, 2023 at 3:31 pm

        BIDEN HAS 1 GREAT QUALITY,HE CAN FILL UP A DIAPER FASTER THAN ANYBODY INCLUDING BATHROOM BARRY/AKA/HEZBOLLAH QUEEN……………AND WITH NO BRAIN MATTER=AMAZING!!!!!!!!!

        • Rick Whitaker

          October 11, 2023 at 3:59 pm

          caution troll comment

  • Minerva Moser

    October 10, 2023 at 10:50 pm

    Well, I know this: Cortes’s backing of DeSantis got him dropped from his regular gig on Steve Bannon’s WarRoom like a hot rock.

    • Rick Whitaker

      October 11, 2023 at 8:03 am

      do you listen to bannon, surely not. bannon is a crazy man full of hate and lies.

  • PeterH

    October 11, 2023 at 12:46 am

    It’s official Joe Biden will be reelected ….. the Republican Klown Kar is about to take a nasty turn!

  • Joe Average

    October 11, 2023 at 2:28 am

    I was a big fan of Steve Cortes until he made this terrible blunder of joining the Desantis campaign. I don’t know how someone so insightful could be hoodwinked into such an awkward position. Steve should have stuck with what I feel he is best at, synthesizing data and information, in an insightful way.

    • Rick Whitaker

      October 11, 2023 at 8:15 am

      all the maga cult people are confused and full of hate and propaganda. ” insightful “, i think not. insight means considering all sides, he doesn’t do that.

      • ADRIAN

        October 11, 2023 at 3:35 pm

        RACIST BIGOT WANNABEE,BIDEN DID NOT WIN SQUAT=STOLEN=I HOPE YOUR ALL BROKE=YOU HAMAS TRANSTIFA BLACK LIES MATTER PUSSY!!!!

        • Rick Whitaker

          October 11, 2023 at 4:00 pm

          warning troll comment

  • Sonja Fitch

    October 11, 2023 at 5:40 am

    Lol
    Desantis May be fooling some of the people . But Desantis cannot fool the folks supposedly backing him. THIS HAS the BEST Story Book Ending! Get out Desantis! You know the one where the wicked are gone !

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  • My Take

    October 11, 2023 at 12:52 pm

    Hamas could formally endorse Trump and Jordan. That would still things up. AgitProp tactics.

    • My Take

      October 11, 2023 at 1:09 pm

      STIR things up

      And support the election-steal lie for good measure.

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  • MH/Duuuval

    October 11, 2023 at 10:10 pm

    Trump showed how he can dominate a debate stage when in 2016 he stalked Hilary Clinton, admiring her gluteus maximus when he thought n one was looking.

    • Dr. 🤣 🤣

      October 12, 2023 at 5:48 am

      The magazine covers did not want her so Newsom ended up with her…oh…wait….Jenn Newsom is a screaming #10. With the eyebrows she is a #3. Without. I won’t go there….wait…what? Who….? Jenn Newsom doesn’t even try.

      • Rick Whitaker

        October 12, 2023 at 1:37 pm

        WTF

  • Bill Saroyan

    October 12, 2023 at 10:25 am

    Jesus, does anybody actually read all the nonsense that Earl writes? I can’t imagine wasting that much of the time of my life.

    • Rick Whitaker

      October 12, 2023 at 1:39 pm

      NO THEY AVOID EARL’S COMMENT FOR OBVIOUS REASONS. CAN YOU HE THINKS HE’S FUNNY

  • Biscuit

    October 12, 2023 at 10:29 am

    Someone backing away from DeSantis? I should hope so.
    Any dog would back away from anything DeSantis stands for, because a dog knows a shitpile when he smells one.
    Arf.

Comments are closed.


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