One of Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley’s prime backers has had enough.
Americans for Prosperity Action, a group aligned with conservative billionaire Charles Koch, has said it will no longer pour money into her campaign after her loss in South Carolina on Saturday, according to Politico.
Politico reported that it had obtained an email in which Americans for Prosperity CEO Emily Seidel said AFP Action, its political division, was no longer funding Haley.
“She has made it clear that she will continue to fight and we wholeheartedly support her in this effort,” Seidel wrote.
“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,” she wrote.
AFP Action has been putting its resources behind Haley since November. The group maintains the Republican Party is doomed with former President Donald Trump as its presidential candidate.
“If Donald Trump is at the top of the Republican ticket, the risk of one-party rule by a Democratic Party captured by the Progressive Left is severe and would do irreparable damage to the country,” Seidel wrote.
“The last three 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,” she wrote.
“And we should expect this to increase further as the criminal trials progress,” Seidel wrote.
Should Haley drop out?
Trump faces a March trial in New York over payments he made to porn star Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 election and also faces federal election interference changes and charges he mishandled classified documents. Trump is also facing election interference charges in Georgia.
Mark Harris, lead adviser with SFA Fund Inc., the major group backing Haley, said it will support her as long as she is in the contest.
Trump reacted on the Truth Social social media platform.
“AMERICAN’S FOR NO PROSPERITY HAVE JUST STATED THAT HALEY HAS NO CHANCE TO WIN, AND THEY WILL STOP FUNDING HER CAMPAIGN, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY. WHAT A WASTE OF MONEY!” he wrote.
Haley indicated Saturday that she will remain in the contest at least through the March 5 Super Tuesday elections.
“In the next 10 days, another 21 states and territories will speak,” Haley said Saturday night after losing the South Carolina race by about 20 percentage points, according to The Washington Post.
“They have the right to a real choice, not a Soviet-style election with only one candidate. And I have a duty to give them that choice,” she said.
“Those of us from the Reagan wing of the party want her to stay in because we want to remind people we are still here,” Eric Levine, a donor to Haley, told the Post. “We’re not winning without the Reagan wing of the party, and Nikki Haley represents that wing.”
Levine said that with trials circling Trump, Haley is an option.
“If something happens, she’s the one who can pick up the pieces,” Levine told the Post. “It makes sense for her … to stay in, continue to gather delegates. She has the money to do it.”
