Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley has reserved $10 million for advertising in Iowa and New Hampshire, the two first nominating contests, as she seeks to overcome Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) as the top alternative candidate to former President Donald Trump.
The television, radio, and digital advertising will begin the first week of December and marks Haley's first advertising reservation, according to the Associated Press. The campaign will run through the Jan. 15 Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire's primary. In contrast, DeSantis's campaign has reserved a $2 million ad buy in Iowa that will begin this month and run through the Iowa caucuses.
REPUBLICANS NAVIGATE CULTURE WAR SETBACK ON ABORTION
Trump remains the unequivocal front-runner in the GOP primary, according to national and state surveys. A RealClearPolitics poll average shows Trump at 58.5% support, far ahead of DeSantis at 14.4% and Haley at 9%. Yet Haley and DeSantis have continued to battle over who emerges as Trump's chief rival in the primary, escalating their war of words and attack ads.
Recent polling has shown that Haley's support is growing among the GOP electorate. DeSantis and Haley tied at 16%, according to a Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom Iowa poll released last month, while Trump received 43% support. A Suffolk University/Boston Globe/USA Today survey last month showed Haley polling above DeSantis at 19% among New Hampshire Republican primary voters, second only to Trump at 49%, while DeSantis polled at 10%.
Republican strategists have repeatedly called for lower-tiered candidates to drop out of the field to make way for one campaign to challenge Trump. On Sunday night, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) announced he was dropping out of the 2024 race. Last month, former Vice President Mike Pence became the first major candidate to suspend his campaign at the Republican Jewish Coalition summit.
DeSantis has made Iowa the cornerstone of his campaign's path to victory in the GOP primary. He won the coveted endorsement of Gov. Kim Reynolds (R-IA) last week and has pledged to visit all 99 counties in the state. However, Haley's campaign manager Betsy Ankney criticized DeSantis's campaign finances and organizing in two other early-voting states, New Hampshire and South Carolina.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“Nikki Haley’s momentum and path to victory are clear,” Ankney said. “The same can’t be said for Ron DeSantis, who, even with a decent showing in Iowa, can’t afford a cup of coffee at the Red Arrow diner in New Hampshire and is a mere tourist in South Carolina. Nikki’s campaign is built to win the primary against Donald Trump, and all polls show she is by far the strongest Republican against Joe Biden in the general. After Republican losses in 2020, 2022, and 2023, it’s time to leave behind the chaos and drama of the past and nominate a new generation of conservative leadership.”
Never Back Down, the super PAC supporting DeSantis, is aiding the Florida governor by spending $25 million on a fall ad campaign in Iowa and New Hampshire. Trump, meanwhile, continues to dominate Haley and DeSantis in fundraising. His campaign pulled in $45.5 million in the third quarter of the year and had $37.5 million in available cash.