(The Center Square) – Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley picked up a key endorsement Tuesday with the backing of Americans for Prosperity Action, a group connected to billionaire Charles Koch.
Haley, 51, and other Republican candidates have been trailing frontrunner Donald Trump with 47 days to go before the Iowa caucuses, the first event in the state-by-state nomination process.
“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,” the group said in a memo Tuesday. “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.”
Americans for Prosperity Action said both Trump and President Joe Biden have come up short.
“Donald Trump and Joe Biden will only further perpetuate the country’s downward spiral in politics,” according to the memo. “Furthermore, a significant majority of voters want somebody new.”
Emily Seidel, senior adviser for AFP Action, wrote in the memo that while Haley has trailed in the polls, she represents the best chance to beat Trump.
“Our internal polling confirms what our activists are hearing and seeing from voters in the early primary states: Nikki Haley is in the best position to defeat Donald Trump in the primaries,” she wrote. “Between her surging to second place in the polls since August and being well-positioned amongst supporters of the other candidates, she is in a strong position to gather more support.”
The group also is betting that Haley can beat Biden.
“In addition, our internal polling consistently shows that Nikki Haley is by far the strongest candidate Republicans could put up against Joe Biden in a general election – winning every key battleground state and up nationally by nearly 10 points,” according to the memo. “While our polling shows Donald Trump loses to Joe Biden, Nikki Haley outperforms Trump by 8 to 14 points in the key Presidential battleground states.”
Haley said she was grateful for the endorsement on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
“We have a country to save and I’m so thankful for the support of @AFPAction and the millions of Americans who’ve put their faith in our movement,” she wrote. “Let’s win this!”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ campaign said the endorsement was good for Trump.
“Congratulations to Donald Trump on securing the Koch endorsement. Like clockwork, the pro-open borders, pro-jail break bill establishment is lining up behind a moderate who has no mathematical pathway of defeating the former president,” campaign spokesman Andrew Romeo wrote on X. “Every dollar spent on Nikki Haley’s candidacy should be reported as an in-kind to the Trump campaign.”
