Powerful Koch group endorses Nikki Haley’s 2024 bid to beat Donald Trump
- Americans for Prosperity Action’s endorsement would help Nikki Haley with manpower on the ground
- Former US president Donald Trump is the clear front runner in the 2024 Republican primary contest
The conservative US political network led by billionaire Charles Koch on Tuesday endorsed Nikki Haley for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, giving the former South Carolina governor a boost among party rivals struggling to make a dent against front runner Donald Trump.
The influential group, which pushes for tax cuts and less government regulation, has made clear that beating former president Trump in the Republican nominating contest is a top priority, arguing that he would lose the November election to President Joe Biden. The Democrat beat incumbent Trump in the 2020 White House race.
In addition to controlling tens of millions of dollars for campaign spending, the Koch-affiliated Super PAC known as Americans for Prosperity Action, or AFP Action, has thousands of staffers throughout the country who will now promote Haley among potential voters.
Among Haley’s main weaknesses, according to her campaign operatives, has been a relatively underdeveloped network of campaign workers and allies in the early voting state of Iowa.
It is far from clear that the AFP endorsement will be a game changer, given that Trump leads his Republican rivals by more than 40 points in most national polls. About 10 per cent of Republican primary voters support Haley, according to a polling average maintained by poll-tracking website FiveThirtyEight.
