Ron DeSantis super PAC will host bus tour through Iowa ahead of Lincoln Dinner

Never Back Down is beginning to take over some event planning from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' presidential campaign, launching a bus tour that will take him through Chariton, Osceola and Oskaloosa ahead of Friday's Iowa GOP Lincoln Dinner.

DeSantis is looking to reset after his most recent financial disclosures showed his campaign is quickly burning through money while failing to close the large polling gap with the race's front-runner, former President Donald Trump.

DeSantis' well-funded super PAC has raised more than $100 million and previously indicated to the Des Moines Register it would ramp up its Iowa operations by opening a network of five campaign offices by the end of July and increasingly host its own events for DeSantis to attend.

“Never Back Down is laser-focused on amplifying the governor’s message through door-knocking, collecting caucus commitments and hosting events for him to participate in, and we’ll continue growing all of those efforts over the next several months,” Never Back Down spokesperson Jess Szymanski previously said in a statement.

Iowa Republican operatives and activists told the Register they're not panicked about the state of DeSantis' campaign, but they did urge him to spend more time in Iowa and at smaller events.

Since formally announcing his run May 24, DeSantis has traveled to Iowa just three times — with six weeks lapsing between his two most recent visits.

He has held 10 public, preannounced events in Iowa since becoming a presidential candidate. While that far surpasses Trump’s two such events, some Iowa Republicans say the pace and number are not ambitious enough to win over the supporters DeSantis will need to overtake the former president.

More: Iowa Republicans say DeSantis doubts may be overblown but urge him to ramp up campaigning

The bus tour appears to be an acknowledgment that DeSantis will need to spend more time on the ground if he wants to gain momentum in Iowa.

DeSantis and the Never Back Down bus will depart Des Moines on July 27 and arrive for a meet-and-greet in Chariton at 12:30 p.m. He'll attend a town hall in Osceola at 6:45 that evening, and then travel to Oskaloosa the following day for a 12:30 p.m. meet-and-greet.

All three events will be hosted by the super PAC — a move that continues to blur the lines between traditional campaigns and their allied big-money groups.

The super PAC, which can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money, is prohibited from coordinating with the campaign. But it can set up its own events and invite the governor to attend, helping to shift the costs from the more cash-strapped campaign and onto Never Back Down.

Never Back Down has also taken over much of the campaign's field operation, employing 21 full-time staff in Iowa with plans to continue hiring. Staffers have knocked on nearly 200,000 doors in Iowa as of Wednesday, according to the group, and within weeks will have “hit every target voter in Iowa at least once.”

The organization told the Register it will open offices Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Council Bluffs, Davenport and Sioux City by the end of the month.

Brianne Pfannenstiel is the chief politics reporter for the Register. Reach her at bpfann@dmreg.com or 515-284-8244. Follow her on Twitter at @brianneDMR.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: DeSantis' super PAC, Never Back Down, increasingly will hold events