Nikki Haley’s boosters at Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity Action are packing up their tents after Haley’s disappointing 20-point loss to Donald Trump in South Carolina.
Natalie Allison reports for 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.
Americans for Prosperity claimed to have connected with some 1.2 million voters in the Palmetto State on Haley’s behalf by February 23, but if the campaign was looking to break through “the noise,” as Candace Carroll, AFP Action’s South Carolina lead, described the organization’s efforts, there simply weren’t enough Republican primary voters convinced that their former governor’s tune would be an upgrade over Trump.
The Haley campaign’s messaging is focused on Super Tuesday, with nothing promised beyond that and a nonzero chance that she may be done before then. Nine more days of campaigning is a long time after having taken a certified thumping on one’s home field.