Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley got blown out in her home state Saturday night. Donald Trump delivered another double-digit blowout loss; only this one occurred in Haley’s backyard. Still, Ms. Haley refuses to back out, noting that this isn’t a Soviet-style election—the voters deserve a choice. That’s fine, but the GOP base made their decision weeks ago. Haley doesn’t feel that Trump can win in November, even though he’s the best candidate right now. The same thing was said about Trump in 2016. What is clear is that Haley can’t beat Biden—she hasn’t won anything yet. She has a total of zero primary wins. Haley isn’t leading in one primary against the former president when heading into Super Tuesday.
There are many reasons for Haley to end this increasingly embarrassing 2024 effort, but it seems only some of her donors are seeing things. The Koch Brothers network, which has backed Ms. Haley to the hilt, recently announced they're cutting their losses, seeing a further injection of their resources being unable to turn things around (via Politico):
Americans For Prosperity Action, the powerful conservative group supporting Nikki Haley in the Republican presidential primary, will no longer spend money on behalf of her campaign.
In an email to staff obtained by POLITICO, Americans For Prosperity CEO Emily Seidel said Sunday that the group’s political arm, AFP Action, had to “take stock” of its spending priorities after Haley’s loss in the South Carolina primary. The Koch-aligned group, Seidel said, will now focus its efforts on competitive Senate and House races.
“She has made it clear that she will continue to fight and we wholeheartedly support her in this effort,” Seidel wrote of Haley. “But given the challenges in the primary states ahead, we don’t believe any outside group can make a material difference to widen her path to victory.”
AFP Action’s decision is the latest blow to Haley’s longshot presidential bid, which has sustained losses in four early nominating states and the Virgin Islands, including on Saturday, when former President Donald Trump beat Haley in her home state by 20 points. Haley declared she will continue on in her primary fight, but has only committed to running through Super Tuesday on March 5.
AFP Action had funded advertisements and field operations for months last year that were designed to persuade Republican voters to back someone other than Trump in the presidential primary. But it wasn’t until late November that AFP Action tapped Haley as its desired Trump alternative. Since then, AFP has reached out to more than 3 million voters in early nominating and Super Tuesday states, as well as purchased millions of dollars worth of ads on Haley’s behalf.
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The only thing notable about the Haley campaign is her communications shop’s ability to spin these thrashings as victories. That doesn’t mean they're good talking points, but being unable to break 40 percent in your home state is the textbook definition of humiliation. Haley is canceling any hope for a future in the GOP after the dust settles.
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