Ron DeSantis' senior political aides were gathered last year at the Florida governor's campaign headquarters, an office across the street from a Red Lobster on Tallahassee's north side, planning the announcement of his candidacy for president. Some wanted the Republican to go a baseball stadium in Tampa, near where he grew up and starred in Little League , for what they hoped would be a photogenic rally with his young family. Campaign manager Generra Peck supported a different idea, according to people familiar with the matter — one she had quietly been working on for weeks with Elon Musk, the then-new owner of the platform still known at the time as Twitter.
The people spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose internal deliberations. DeSantis opted for an audio-only conversation with Musk on Twitter Spaces. Initially drawing interest and curiosity, the call was a disaster.
The feed crashed due to technical glitches, creating an inauspicious opening for what would ultimately be DeSantis’ ill-fated campaign. Peck, who was demoted three months into DeSantis' candidacy , and Musk are now working together again, this time on a super political action committee, America PAC, dedicated to electing Donald Trump, who beat DeSantis on his way to winning this year’s Republican nomination . Trump’s campaign is largely leaving paid canvassing and get-out-the-vote efforts to outside groups such as America PAC, relying on new guidance from the Federal Election Commission that allo.