According to the memo, the group pored over polling and feedback from voters before it reached the decision to back Haley, who has recently seen a rise in support. However, former President Donald Trump remains dominant in the race.
“At the outset of our strategy, we made clear that we would be business-like in our decision. We would support a candidate capable of turning the page on Washington’s toxic culture — and a candidate who can win. And last night, we concluded that analysis. That candidate is Nikki Haley,” the memo continued.
Haley’s campaign described AFP’s backing as a “huge grassroots endorsement,” and Haley in a statement said she was honored to receive the support.
“AFP Action’s members know that there is too much at stake in this election to sit on the sidelines,” Haley said. “This is a choice between freedom and socialism, individual liberty and big government, fiscal responsibility and spiraling debt. We have a country to save, and I’m grateful to have AFP Action by our side.”
A person close to the Koch network granted anonymity to disclose private conversations said the decision was made on Monday. They ultimately decided on Haley after considering North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The memo also made the case that choosing Trump as the nominee would affect other political races next cycle. “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,” the memo read.
Economic conservative groups who have soured on Trump, like Americans for Prosperity and the Club for Growth, have for months funded generic anti-Trump advertising ahead of the first votes in early nominating states. But none of these groups, until now, had committed to backing any candidate in particular, calling into question whether the conservative effort to try to block Trump from securing the nomination would receive any traction.
DeSantis’ team slammed AFP’s decision on Tuesday soon after news of the Haley endorsement broke, with Communications Director Andrew Romeo sarcastically congratulating Trump on “securing the Koch endorsement.”
“Every dollar spent on Nikki Haley’s candidacy should be reported as an in-kind to the Trump campaign,” Romeo said.
AFP’s memo offered a “note of appreciation” to the Florida governor and said that DeSantis supporters “will be disappointed in our decision,” but said that it was vital for the field to consolidate. “Donald Trump won the nomination in 2016 largely because of a divided primary field, and we must not allow that to happen again, particularly when the stakes are even higher in 2024,” the memo said.
AFP’s internal polling ahead of its endorsement had Haley outperforming DeSantis not just in New Hampshire, where she is currently ahead of him in public surveys, but also in Iowa, where DeSantis’ campaign has gone all-in ahead of the Jan. 15 caucuses.
Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung similarly slammed the endorsement, saying the group “has chosen to endorse a pro-China, open borders and globalist candidate” and repeating Trump’s “Birdbrain” nickname for his former United Nations ambassador.
Cheung declared that “no amount of shady money” from outside “Never Trump RINOs” would “stop the MAGA movement” or Trump from securing the Republican nomination.
With reporting from Adam Wren.
