Yesterday, former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley received a big endorsement in her bid for the American presidency. The support she is receiving from AFP Action – the political arm of Americans for Prosperity – is more than just an imprimatur.
It is money. Data. Grassroots engagement.
In an effort to gauge its full significance, we followed a group of AFP Action volunteers around downtown Columbia, S.C. – the epicenter of this coming February’s “First in the South” presidential primary. The group has been knocking on doors all week, but today their efforts shifted focus from issues-based advocacy to more direct pro-Haley appeals.
Be on the lookout for our report on this new ground game later this week …
While Haley is clearly benefiting from AFP’s backing, another of her high-level supporters is suddenly giving her headaches. Earlier this month, we reported on Haley receiving the support of top Wall Street banker Jamie Dimon – a 67-year-old billionaire from New York who has spent the past two decades at the head of America’s largest bank, JPMorgan Chase. According to Dimon, Haley is the only candidate who can save the U.S. economy.
Dimon – who has made no bones about his Democratic moorings and his disdain for former president Donald Trump – offered up a doozy during a conference in the Big Apple this week, telling “very liberal” Democratic voters they needed to support Haley’s candidacy.
“If you’re a very liberal Democrat, I urge you to help Nikki Haley, too,” Dimon told attendees at the conference, according to Sam Sutton of Politico. “Give them a choice on the Republican side that might be better than Trump.”
What will GOP primary voters think of such an overture?
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As we noted yesterday, Haley is clearly emerging as the #NeverTrump Republican candidate – moving into a statistical tie with Florida governor Ron DeSantis in early-voting Iowa and eclipsing him in early-voting New Hampshire and her home state of South Carolina.
Haley’s current polling position in these key GOP primary states has her primed to continue surging past her remaining Republican rivals – assuming she is able to avoid any more unforced errors.
The problem? All the momentum in the world is unlikely to help her catch Trump, who enjoys massive – some say insurmountable – leads in all of the aforementioned states (including Haley’s home state of South Carolina).
Can Trump be beaten in any of these early states? Given the extent to which the two-time nominee is a known, defined commodity among the GOP electorate – it seems unlikely (especially if Haley remains one of seven active Republican candidates chasing him).
“His ceiling is his floor and his floor is his ceiling,” one Haley strategist told me. “We just don’t know what that number is yet.”
And we won’t know until the winnowing field winnows further …
Speaking of that field, Haley must continue contending with conservative flamethrower Vivek Ramaswamy – who has proven adept at calling her out for her increasingly dangerous (and self-serving) warmongering. And while DeSantis is certainly down, it’s important to remember he is not yet out.
The longer both of these candidates remain in the race, the harder it gets for Haley to cobble together the coalitions she will need to remain a credible challenger to Trump (to the extent she is one now).
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven children.
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8 comments
JP Morgan/Chase got a $50,000,000,000 bailout from the government in 2008. Must be nice to be in a too big to fail industry and bloviate about what the economy needs.
Jamie should enjoy a steaming hot cup of STFU.
So true, so very, very true.
Geez, Republicans are desperate as hell!
Nikki already said she would help get rid of SS for young Americans.
And now Jamie is telling Americans “Nikki will help protect me and other architects of the last economic disaster! The one your parents went through and helped shape your nihilistic outlook! Please vote for her!!!”
Good luck, assholes!!!
The legal pyramid scheme known as Social Security will end itself as it exists today, whether Haley does something to it or not. It’s the brutal reality of financial and actuarial math [increasing life expectancy over the course of 90 years, a lower ratio of “payors” to beneficiaries, and inflation], and politicians who won’t face that reality. If I had the choice of not having SS deductions for the last 30+ years and instead could have invested that money in nothing more exotic that generic ETFs, utility stock and index funds, even with the various recessions and downturns over the decades, I and millions of others would be multimillionaires and could retire now. Instead, the Federal government raids the SS trust fund – as it has done every year since Johnson began raiding it to pay the bills for Vietnam – and lays down an “IOU” to pay it back. The system is hopelessly broken, and there is a decent chance Gen Xers like myself will be “SOL” when it comes time to collect benefits.
Maybe liberal Democrats should support her, but not true conservatives. This kind of BS is why I no longer identify as a Republican-there’s not a dimes worth of difference between establishment GOP & Democrats. No thank you. I now seek the most conservative candidates to help pull our country at least back from left to the center.
“Why can’t establishment Republicans be as hateful and bigoted as I want them to be? “
Sending thoughts and prayers, lil buddy.
If you’re a very liberal Democrat, I urge you to eat the rich.
Love it when our resident communist in this site comes in to pitch a mindless drivel propaganda turd into the punchbowl of discourse! I would LOVE to see a uber-left commie blue state go all in on Red Uprising’s suggestion to eat the rich! California? Illinois? Massachusetts? Whose ready to stop playing paddy-cake with marxist social justice and and go whole-hog on the crazy pills? Public executions of anyone with more than 2 million dollars and all of their wealth liquidated and then instantly transferred to the bank accounts of everyone making less than 150k!!! Start at the top with the wealthiest billionaires who fund the commie street fighters (like George Soros) and then just start working your way down! Yes, THIS IS what communism looks like!