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The conservative political network led by billionaire Charles Koch announced Tuesday it is backing former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley in the GOP presidential race.
Americans for Prosperity Action said Ms. Haley is an antidote to the “toxic culture” that is bubbling on both the political left and the right and said she is the answer for the broad swath of voters hankering for a fresh face.
“AFP Action is proud to throw our full support behind Nikki Haley, who offers America the opportunity to turn the page on the current political era, to win the Republican primary and defeat Joe Biden next November,” said Emily Seidel, a senior AFP adviser, in a memo. “She has what it takes to lead a policy agenda to take on our nation’s biggest challenges and help ensure our country’s best days are ahead.
“With the grassroots and data capability we bring to bear in this race, no other organization is better equipped to help her do it,” Ms. Seidel said.
The endorsement gives Ms. Haley bragging rights, and access to a donor network as she fights with Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida to become the alternative to former President Donald Trump in the GOP presidential race.
Perhaps, most importantly, it gives her more ground forces in the early primary states.
Ms. Seidel said AFP Action will be calling on its well-established grassroots army to go after voters who vote in the general elections but sit out primary elections.
“Our endorsement means more than just strategic ad buys,” Ms. Seidel said in a conference call with reporters. “It means thousands of AFP Action activists and grassroots leaders out across the country, knocking doors and making phone calls, having valuable one-on-one conversations with voters with a focus on early primary states.”
The decision is a bit of a gut punch for Mr. DeSantis.
He has been laser-focused on distancing himself from Ms. Haley with a strong showing in the Iowa caucuses. Mr. DeSantis has the support of key players there, including Gov. Kim Reynolds and Bob Vander Plaats, head of the conservative Christian Family Leader.
The Koch network, meanwhile, has never been enthralled with Mr. Trump and his boisterous ways, nor have they seen eye to eye with him on polarizing issues, such as immigration and trade.
They are now aligned with the anti-Trump voices in the party that are holding out hope that Mr. Trump can be beaten in a one-on-one primary race. The theory is backed up by polls that show Mr. Trump securing less than 50% of the vote in Iowa and New Hampshire.
However, the anti-Trump forces have failed to rally around a single alternative, raising questions about whether it is simply too late for them to bring together a strong enough coalition to stop the former president.
Mr. Trump and his allies say the race is all but over and the party should rally around his bid.
AFP Action said their polls show Ms. Haley is the best bet to defeat Mr. Trump in a head-to-head primary matchup and the strongest candidate to defeat President Biden in the November election.
“In sharp contrast to recent elections that were dominated by the negative baggage of Donald Trump and in which good candidates lost races that should have been won, Nikki Haley, at the top of the ticket, would boost candidates up and down the ballot, winning the key independent and moderate voters that Trump has no chance to win,” Ms. Seidel said.
The Trump campaign dismissed the endorsement, saying it is no surprise that AFP, “the political arm of the China First, America last movement — has chosen to endorse a pro-China, open borders and globalists candidate in Nikki ’Birdbrain’ Haley.”
“No amount of shady money from George Soros, Democrats, and Never Trump RINOs in partnership with endless war swamp creatures in Washington will stop the MAGA movement or President Trump from being the Republican nominee and defeating Crooked Joe Biden,” the Trump campaign said in a statement.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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