Nikki Haley’s campaign is gathering steam ahead of New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary, but she still faces an uphill climb towards becoming president.
South Carolina Republican Rep. Lindsay Graham has become an anti-Trump favorite. However, she has made several unfortunate choices and refusal to acknowledge slavery as the root cause of Civil War have left many voters disappointed with her performance.
Donations from 83,000 New Donors
LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman contributed $250,000 to a super PAC backing former South Carolina governor and current UN ambassador Nikki Haley, joining other prominent donors who see her as an effective alternative to President Donald Trump. Haley continues her steady rise in the GOP primaries, taking second place in early voting states Iowa and South Carolina even while trailing Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis nationally in polls.
Stand For America Fund Inc., which has yet to reveal its full 2020 haul, accepted an undisclosed contribution from Hoffman as payment for his opposition to President Trump and it agreed, according to Dmitri Mehlhorn of Stand For America Fund Inc.
Haley will likely use her cash boost to organize in Wisconsin, where donors and operatives consider her an elite candidate thanks to her ability to compete on debate stages with fellow GOP candidates and her call for reaching across ideological divides within Republican Party ranks. It could also aid her campaign and its super PAC’s survival prior to Iowa caucuses on January 15 where Haley currently is tied with DeSantis.
$24 Million Raised
Nikki Haley has raised $24 Million since she launched her presidential bid, according to financial disclosure forms filed with the Federal Election Commission. These figures cover donations made directly to her campaign as well as money transferred from joint fundraising committees.
Haley raised almost double what she raised during the third quarter, surpassing both totals from previous two quarters combined. This comes as she builds momentum in the race for the GOP nomination and draws deep-pocketed donors looking for an alternative to President Donald Trump. Haley campaign praised new donors like Home Depot co-founder Ken Langone and LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman while criticizing rivals Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy who tried to “buy the nomination.”
But even with her increase in support, Haley still trails DeSantis and Trump significantly in most public polls. Her campaign announced it will focus on recruiting big donors with an eye towards winning Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primaries in early 2024; an allied super PAC called Americans for Prosperity Action is funded by billionaire conservative activist Charles Koch to keep pace with her rivals.
Nikki Haley Running for President
Nikki Haley, former South Carolina governor and U.N. ambassador will make her formal announcement of presidential candidacy Feb 15 in South Carolina, challenging President Trump in a Republican primary. While noting her record as governor and U.N. ambassador she will argue for new generations of leadership for America.
She has already raised money from donors including Wall Street tycoons and the head of a political action committee tied to the Koch brothers – giving her an edge in fundraising over many potential GOP candidates like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis who has seen his campaign suffer financially.
Although Haley did not address Charleston or its removal in her announcement video, both events are expected to play an integral part in her message. As the daughter of Indian immigrants herself, Haley has highlighted their roots while criticizing what she perceives as hatred and division within American politics.
Still, early polling shows she ranks third behind Trump and DeSantis among potential Republican contenders in terms of support among Republicans. A RealClearPolitics average of national polls gives Haley less than four percent support among the party faithful — significantly behind both DeSantis and Vice President Mike Pence in that regard. She may make the final debates but unlikely to gain a majority vote during state primaries.
