The political network founded by the billionaire industrialist Koch brothers announced Sunday that it would end its support for Nikki Haley in the presidential primary following her recent defeat in South Carolina.
The group Americans for Prosperity Action had spent tens of millions of dollars promoting Ms. Haley and preventing the reappointment of Donald J. Trump, but it had already sharply curbed its spending in the GOP race after Ms. Haley came up short was the New Hampshire primary last month. The organization officially announced its decision on Sunday.
“Given the challenges ahead in the primary states, we do not believe an outside group can make a significant difference in extending their path to victory,” Emily Seidel, executive director of Americans for Prosperity Action, wrote in an email to staff . The email was first reported by Politico.
Ms. Seidel wrote that the group will now focus on the House and Senate races, adding that the conservative organization remains concerned about the political aftershocks of Mr. Trump’s win of the GOP nomination.
“With Donald Trump at the top of the Republican ticket, the danger of one-party rule by a Democratic Party captured by the progressive left is high,” she wrote.
Ms. Seidel described how the last three elections have shown “what we can expect from voters who have consistently rejected Donald Trump and his influence on the Republican Party brand.”
Ms. Haley’s campaign had announced that it had raised $1 million in the less than 24 hours since polls closed in South Carolina on Saturday and she lost her home state. She has vowed to stay in the race until Super Tuesday, March 5.
In a statement, the Haley campaign praised Americans for Prosperity Action as an ally.
“We thank them for their tremendous help in this race,” the statement said. “Our fight continues, and with more than $1 million raised from grassroots conservatives in the last 24 hours alone, we have plenty of fuel to keep going. We have to save a country.”
The group’s support, announced in November, was crucial for Ms. Haley. This came as she tried to gain ground against Mr. Trump, especially given that her team was still small at the time. It gave her access to a direct mail campaign, to field workers who knocked on doors and to people who could call potential voters in Iowa and other states.
Still, despite these efforts, Ms. Haley finished third in Iowa by a wide margin behind Mr. Trump. A person close to the network said it focused on grassroots voter outreach rather than advertising in its final stretch before South Carolina.
After news of the group’s withdrawal broke, Mr. Trump posted on his social media site that Charles Koch “and his group were thought to be idiots from the start!”
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2024-02-26 02:06:22
www.nytimes.com