House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) re-election campaign quietly cut ties in late October with its fundraising consulting firm, Fundraising, Inc. The Republican-aligned fundraising company is a subsidiary of Jeff Roe’s Axiom Strategies. Shortly after winning the Speakership, Johnson was told by several House Republican colleagues — at the urging of Trump campaign aides Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles — that it would be prudent to end his campaign’s use of Roe-affiliated companies.
The departure of Johnson as a client of a Jeff Roe-controlled campaign firm is a significant blow to the high-profile Republican political consultant and Axiom Strategies. Meanwhile, some in former President Donald Trump’s inner circle are ramping up efforts to encourage Republican candidates to drop Roe, who had run the Ron DeSantis campaign-aligned SuperPAC Never Back Down. Roe resigned from his role with the SuperPAC in mid-December after infighting between Roe and DeSantis confidant Scott Wagner became public — effectively sidelining the massive pro-DeSantis operation just before the Iowa Caucus. DeSantis dropped out of the Republican presidential primary just one month later.
Roe, known for his bravado, has increasingly rubbed some in Republican Party political circles the wrong way. Critics allege Roe cares more about money than winning his client’s campaigns. They point to his penchant for bragging to potential business investors that Axiom’s network of companies can capture most of a candidate’s campaign spending.
While Roe and his Axiom team ran Never Back Down, nearly half of the SuperPAC’s spending flowed through Roe’s companies. Campaign finance data suggests the pro-DeSantis operation squandered millions in donor dollars paying political consultants — dangerously bloating the SuperPAC’s operating costs. Only a fraction of the budget was spent on tangible campaign efforts.
