Heckler flusters Ron DeSantis as leaders flee his super PAC

A heckler visibly flustered GOP presidential candidate Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) during a recent campaign stop in Iowa. Video of the awkward exchange hit the web shortly after the chief strategist of his super political action committee (PAC) resigned, following an unflattering Washington Post article about the organization.

During his Sunday night speech at the Fireside Grill in the city of Altoona, a female heckler repeatedly interrupted DeSantis.

Related: Casey DeSantis encourages supporters to commit “voter fraud” to help husband win Iowa caucus

She also recently released an anti-LGBTQ+ political ad for her husband.

“We beat [Dr. Anthony] Fauci on COVID, we beat, we beat…,” he said before the woman asked, “Then what happened? You have a sex offender going to school.” It’s unclear what the woman was referring to.

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DeSantis replied, “Do you know what happened? What happened is we’re the number one rated state for education in the country. That’s what happened. We are number one ranked in the country.” However, the woman continued speaking over him.

DeSantis then said, “Excuse me. I’m not finished. I’m doing my thing.” As she continued speaking, he then said, “No,” and repeatedly said, “Stop it,” as the woman kept talking.

DeSantis then stammered, repeating his line about Fauci and claiming that, “We beat the Democratic Party on election security. We made sure that they had universal voter ID, no, uh, no, umm, ballet harvesting has been banned. Zuckerbucks have been banned. We made sure to beat [Jewish billionaire] George Soros when it came to criminal justice, uh-uh, issues.”

Poor Ronny Desantis. His PAC Chair fleeced him of his campaign money then split, and now this woman is heckling him in Iowa today and I think he might cry. pic.twitter.com/hBQWf4ORn9

— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) December 17, 2023

The heckling occurred soon after The Washington Post published an article on allegations of “mismanagement and conduct issues, including numerous unauthorized leaks containing false information” from DeSantis’s biggest super PAC, Never Back Down.

In response to the article, Jeff Roe, the Super PAC’s top strategist resigned, writing on X, “I cannot in good conscience stay affiliated with Never Back Down (NBD) given the statements in the Washington Post today. They are not true and an unwanted distraction at a critical time for Governor DeSantis.”

I can’t believe it ended this way. I’m so proud to have worked alongside these men and women at NBD 24/7 the past nine months to save the country. Good luck the next 28 days and a wake up. I’m so sorry I can’t be there with you. pic.twitter.com/Rh4oQQ1tAE

— Jeff Roe (@jeffroe) December 17, 2023

Roe’s departure followed the recent resignations of numerous other high-ranking officials from the super PAC, including its now-former CEO Chris Jankowski and its now-former chairman Adam Laxalt. Jankowski said he resigned due to issues with the Super PAC’s environment, and Laxalt said he resigned to focus on his family and law practice, The Hill reported.

The Super PAC also fired its replacement CEO Kristin Davison because of unspecified “management and personnel issues,” Politico reported. Its communications director Erin Perrine and director of operations Matt Palmisano also recently left, the Associated Press reported.

On Monday, the nonprofit watchdog group Campaign Legal Center filed with the Federal Election Commission alleging illegal coordination between DeSantis and the super PAC, in violation of federal election laws, NBC News reported. A super PAC spokesperson denied the accusations, and a DeSantis spokesperson said the campaign still has “full confidence” in the “stellar team” still remaining at the organization.

This all occurs less than 28 days before the Iowa caucuses, the first election in the 2024 Republican presidential primary. DeSantis is currently trailing former President Donald Trump by nearly 30% in state polls.

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