DeSantis PAC Adds Third Aide Following Haley Uprising at Koch

The super PAC for Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis picked up a third staffer from the Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity in the aftermath of that operation’s endorsement of Nikki Haley, a move that touched off a mass exodus.

Chris Maidment, who said he was fired for criticizing AFP’s endorsement of Haley, announced Friday that he’s the new political director in New Hampshire for DeSantis super PAC Never Back Down.

Never Back Down also hired two Iowa grassroots directors from AFP after they resigned in the wake of the Haley endorsement.

The political operation for Vivek Ramaswamy told Semafor that they’re in talks with six former staffers who left AFP.

AFP, the political branch of the Koch network, incurred the backlash and scrutiny over its endorsement of Haley, the former South Carolina governor, for two major reasons: She has no chance at the GOP nomination and her policies deviate from core beliefs at Koch.

Maidment said he was fired Saturday, a day after posting that he’d “vote for Biden over Haley 10 times out of 10, because he’s less of a threat to our country.”

“Voters are ready to turn the page from the past,” Maidment said in a series of posts to X on Friday. “Ron DeSantis is the candidate in the best position and has the track record of success to get this done. … Nikki Haley represents the failed past of cronyism, foreign intervention, and appeasing the progressive machine.”

Maidment told NBC News that AFP executives were warned of “attrition” if the group backed Haley.

“There are dozens who feel the way I do. … I’ve spoken with many who agree with my perspective on this and are dismayed with the endorsement,” Maidment said. “And it was made known to leadership well in advance of the endorsement that there would be a lot of attrition if Haley ended up being the choice.”

AFP CEO Emily Seidel said earlier this week that the Koch network was “never going to agree with any candidate on every issue.” Specifically, meshing Koch’s policy of restraint with Haley’s interventionist policies.

“We’re going to work with anyone where we agree, and where we disagree, we just hope that we can have a constructive and respectful dialogue to help get to a better place,” Seidel said. “On foreign policy, I think it’s fair to say we share the same goals. We want to keep Americans safe, we want to keep our troops out of harm’s way unless it’s absolutely necessary.”