WASHINGTON--Republican Nikki Haley's deep-pocketed allies have turbo-charged spending on her presidential bid in recent weeks, a last-ditch effort to boost her chances against frontrunner Donald Trump in party nomination contests that start next month.
The SFA Fund Inc, a pro-Haley super PAC funded by business titans including former WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum, has spent over $21 million on ads and mailings backing her White House run in the nearly three months since her breakout performance in a Sept. 27 Republican debate, according to a Reuters analysis of its financial disclosures to the Federal Election Commission. The spending was higher than that of any other super PAC during the period and a major increase from the $14 million that SFA Fund spent backing Haley, a former South Carolina governor who served as U.N. ambassador under Trump, in the three months before the debate. In both periods, SFA Fund's outlays have been more than double the reported spending by the biggest pro-Trump super PAC, which is known as MAGA Inc. Super PACs are allowed to raise and spend unlimited sums supporting candidates but are not allowed to coordinate activity with the candidates they back. The wave of pro-Haley spending is a sign of resistance from wealthy donors to what many - including top party officials - see as Trump's inevitable clinching of the Republican nomination to face incumbent President Joe Biden, a Democrat, in the Nov. 5 2024 presidential election. "What remains to be seen – and what GOP elected officials seem skeptical about – is whether that extra money will win her any primaries against Trump, let alone the nomination," said Michael Robinson Byrd, a professional Republican fundraiser who is unaffiliated in the 2024 presidential election. The pro-Haley spending is overwhelmingly concentrated in Iowa and New Hampshire, which hold the first two Republican nomination contests in January, said Mark Harris, the SFA Fund's chief strategist. "We're going to continue to spend heavily in those states," Harris said. Another pro-Haley super PAC known as AFP Action, which is affiliated with billionaire Charles Koch, has spent more than $11 million since the debate. That spending has largely been on ads attacking Trump and Democratic incumbent Joe Biden but recently it has spent heavily on digital ads supporting Haley. Haley's poll numbers have risen throughout the spending surge and her solid performances in Republican debates, including the Sept. 27 event when she delivered aggressive but nuanced answers on healthcare, education and relations with China. But Trump still dominates the contest. A Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed on Monday showed Haley and another Republican hopeful, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, tied for second place with 11% of Republican support each. Trump, who has skipped the Republican candidates' debates, towered above them with 61%.
