(Bloomberg) --Former top Trump administration official Ken Cuccinelli announced the launch a super-PAC called "Never Back Down" to urge Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to run for president.
In a digital ad unveiled Thursday, Cuccinelli called for "fresh conservative leadership" as he formed a new vehicle to raise and spend money. He cited DeSantis's record on education and abortion -- as well as his efforts to target Disney's special tax status -- as reasons the governor should run for president.
"When Governor Ron DeSantis is President DeSantis, there won't be any Chinese spy balloons drifting across America," said Cuccinelli, who served as a deputy secretary of Homeland Security in former President Donald Trump's administration.
The ad doesn't explicitly mention Trump -- who has officially launched his 2024 bid -- but takes several not-so-subtle jabs at him, including Cuccinelli's call for fresh leadership for conservatives and the spy balloon reference.
Chinese surveillance balloons flew over the continental US at least three times during the Trump years, according to a senior administration official.
DeSantis, who hasn't announced yet whether he will launch a 2024 White House bid, is widely viewed as Trump's main rival for the nomination.
DeSantis has started to make trips across the country to tout his gubernatorial record in Florida, and on Friday he'll appear in Iowa, the Republicans' first early voting state.
Cuccinelli also worked as a senior adviser on Senator Ted Cruz's 2016 presidential campaign and is a former Virginia attorney general.
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