Republican primary candidate Nikki Haley has received the endorsement of the influential conservative group, the Koch Network, in a bid to defeat Donald Trump in the 2024 race.
The network is affiliated with billionaire Charles Koch and will provide funds and influence behind the South Carolina governor's campaign. The decision is expected to shift the Republican primary landscape dramatically.
Conservative Group Backs Nikki Haley
It also comes as Americans for Prosperity Action deploys its vast resources and a standing army of conservative activists to support Haley. The Koch network's endorsement is the latest sign that powerful Republican donors are coalescing behind the former US Ambassador to the United Nations candidacy.
Haley has seen prominent figures expressing their support for her in the last few weeks, particularly after South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott bowed out of the race. As per CNN, AFP Action, a political arm of Koch's network, pledged earlier this year to support a single candidate in the GOP presidential primary.
The decision was a first in the history of the group and it made it clear that it would try to bypass former President Trump to discover a president "who represents a new chapter." On Tuesday, a top AFP official, Emily Seidel, said that they were looking for a candidate to turn the page on political dysfunction when they announced the decision earlier this year.
Seidel added that they cannot continue to keep looking to the politicians of the past to fix modern problems. She noted that Haley represents a new generation of leadership and offers a bold, positive vision for the country's future.
The group's support of the Republican candidate will begin with a multi-million-dollar ad campaign supporting the South Carolina governor. It would launch this week in all early and several Super Tuesday states.
Haley launched her 2024 Republican primary campaign in February and enjoyed momentum in the polls in the last few months. This was partly due to well-received performances in the first three GOP presidential primary debates, according to Fox News.
Trailing Behind Donald Trump
The Republican has also leapfrogged Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for second place in New Hampshire, which will hold the first primary and votes second in the Republican nominating schedule. She has also pulled even with DeSantis in a few of the latest polls in Iowa.
Despite her successes, Haley, along with DeSantis, continues to trail behind Trump, who holds a commanding lead over the other candidates. However, the AFP Action endorsement is expected to greatly help the South Carolina governor's campaign as she lacks the grassroots outreach and organizational strength that the Florida governor enjoys.
In announcing the endorsement, Seidel also said that the United States is being ripped apart by extremes on both sides. She added that the moment requires a tested leader with the governing judgment and policy experience to pull the country back from the brink.
In a separate memo, the group laid out polling describing the shift in the 2024 race toward Haley. Michael Palmer, the senior adviser who presented the polling, said that DeSantis' support over the year had dropped "precipitously," said the New York Times.
