The Koch-aligned Americans for Prosperity Action will no longer be spending money on behalf of Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley’s campaign, the political group announced less than 24 hours after former President Donald Trump defeated her in the South Carolina GOP primary.
In an email to staff on Sunday, Americans For Prosperity CEO Emily Seidel that the group’s political branch, AFP Action, had to “take stock” of its spending priorities after Haley’s most recent loss, Politico reported. The group will now direct its focus toward competitive Senate and House races.
“Nikki Haley has shown us again and again that we made the right decision in supporting her candidacy and she continues to have our strong endorsement,” Seidel wrote. “She has made it clear that she will continue to fight and we wholeheartedly support her in this effort. 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, a network connected to conservative billionaire Charles Koch, signaled for months last fall they were ready to move on from Trump. And as Haley gained momentum as the challenger to Trump most likely to defeat him, the prominent political group threw its money behind the former United Nations ambassador.
Months later, the group’s financial abandonment of Haley represents a crucial loss in a winter packed with them. Haley has yet to win a primary contest against Trump and looks destined to concede the race to her former boss.
However, Haley has not yet dropped out of the presidential race, and her campaign struck a resilient tone after the AFP Action’s decision.
“AFP is a great organization and ally in the fight for freedom and conservative government,” Haley campaign spokeswoman Olivia Perez-Cubas told the Washington Examiner. “We thank them for their tremendous help in this race. Our fight continues, and with more than $1 million coming in from grassroots conservatives in just the last 24 hours, we have plenty of fuel to keep going. We have a country to save.”
While AFP Action is no longer spending money on Haley’s campaign, it is still fearful of what a Trump ticket could mean for Republicans in November.
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“The last 3 election cycles have painted a very clear picture of what we can expect from voters who consistently rejected Donald Trump and his impact on the Republican party brand. This has been reinforced by the recent elections in Virginia in 2023 and the special elections in New York and Pennsylvania just this month. And we should expect this to increase further as the criminal trials progress,” she wrote in the email.
Seidel added that of the GOP presidential primary and the Senate and House races, it is the Senate that has “always been our top priority” and has the best chance of success and “making the greatest difference.”
