Americans for Prosperity Action, the conservative network that has been backing Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, has announced that it will no longer donate to her campaign.
In a memo sent Sunday, Americans For Prosperity CEO Emily Seidel wrote that AFP Action, the group’s political arm, needs to reevaluate where it’s spending its money after Ms. Haley lost the primary in her home state of South Carolina Saturday to former President Donald Trump.
“She has made it clear that she will continue to fight and we wholeheartedly support her in this effort,” Ms.Seidel wrote of Ms. Haley. “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.”
It is the latest sign that Ms. Haley’s path to winning the GOP presidential nomination has all but evaporated and that her financial support is tapering off in the wake of Mr. Trump’s dominance in the opening primary and caucus contests.
Ms. Haley nevertheless remains defiant, vowing to stay in the race at least through the March 5 Super Tuesday contests in 15 states. She campaigned Monday in Michigan ahead of the state’s primary and GOP convention this week.
Americans For Prosperity, which is led by billionaire Charles Koch, will switch its focus from Ms. Haley to competitive races in the House and Senate.
“With the South Carolina presidential primary [last] weekend and the Senate engagement really heating up,” Ms. Seidel wrote, “it’s time to take stock of where we are and – as we always do – make sure we’re optimizing our resources.”
The announcement comes after the group started backing the former South Carolina governor in November. It’s a blow to Ms. Haley’s race for the White House after suffering her fourth loss to Mr. Trump.
Ms. Haley’s campaign thanked AFP for its support.
“AFP is a great organization and ally in the fight for freedom and conservative government. We thank them for their tremendous help in this race,” the Haley campaign said. “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.”
Mr. Trump said Mr. Koch and the group “got played for suckers right from the beginning,” in a Truth Social post Sunday.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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