Koch network backs Haley in GOP primary
Americans for Prosperity Action, the political network founded by billionaire Charles Koch, is endorsing Nikki Haley in the Republican primary, giving the former South Carolina governor a major boost less than 50 days before the Iowa Caucuses.
The massive conservative grassroots organization announced the endorsement in a memo Tuesday.
Haley, “offers America the opportunity to turn the page on the current political era, to win the Republican primary and defeat Joe Biden next November,” it said. “She has what it takes to lead a policy agenda to take on our nation’s biggest challenges and help ensure our country’s best days are ahead.”
AFP Action had previously pledged to back an alternative to former President Donald Trump in the GOP primary race. The groups move to back Haley comes as the former Ambassador to the United Nations has risen above Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as the second Republican behind Trump in key national and early primary state polls.
Haley said she was “honored to have the support of Americans for Prosperity Action, including its millions of grassroots members all across the country,” in a statement released shortly after the endorsement.
“AFP Action’s members know that there is too much at stake in this election to sit on the sidelines. This is a choice between freedom and socialism, individual liberty and big government, fiscal responsibility and spiraling debt. We have a country to save, and I’m grateful to have AFP Action by our side.”
The endorsement is yet another sign that Republicans are beginning to coalesce behind Haley. And it could further swing the race in her favor, as AFP Action deploys its vast volunteers and funds to support her campaign. So far, the PAC has raised more than $70 million for the 2024 election.
DeSantis’ communications director Andrew Romeo derided the AFP Action endorsement of Haley as a win for Trump, stating that “every dollar spent on Nikki Haley’s candidacy should be reported as an in-kind to the Trump campaign.”
“No one has a stronger record of beating the establishment than Ron DeSantis, and this time will be no different,” he said.
AFP Action’s endorsement is yet another sign that Republicans are beginning to coalesce behind Haley as the leading alternative to Trump. And it could further swing the race in her favor, as AFP Action deploys its vast volunteers and funds to support her campaign.
So far, the PAC has raised over $70 million for the 2024 election. Starting Tuesday, the group will begin throwing that money behind Haley with a multimillion-dollar ad campaign in early primary and Super Tuesday states, it said in a statement.
The ad, called “We Must Do Better,” emphasizes the need for new leadership in the U.S. and pegs Haley as the face that can unite the Republican party.
“She’ll turn our country around and bring back opportunity and optimism,” the spot’s narrator professes, while images of young children proudly waving the American flag flash across the screen.
Emily Seidel, a senior advisor to AFP Action, suggested in a statement that the ad is meant to reflect the major issues on the minds of Americans – from frustration with the political system to the debt crisis.
“We can’t keep looking to the politicians of the past to fix the problems of today,” she said. “Nikki Haley represents a new generation of leadership and offers a bold, positive vision for our future. AFP Action is proud to be endorsing her and we will be doing everything we can to help make her the next President of the United States.”