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Nikki Haley, who is polling firmly in the middle of the large GOP presidential pack, is about to see the effort on her behalf ramp up.
In a memo published Wednesday, Mark Harris, lead strategist for the pro-Haley super PAC Stand for America, wrote that Haley is about to enter stage two of her campaign in-line with the first GOP primary debate next month — and her fundraising, combined with that of the outside group, has her well positioned to expand her effort, Harris argued. He added that the super PAC, which has $17 million on hand, will soon “fund an aggressive voter contact campaign to increase awareness about Nikki.”
“With less than a month until Nikki takes the stage in Milwaukee and shows the country why she’s the nation’s best chance to defeat Biden, we are about to enter the second phase of the campaign,” he wrote. “It has long been our view that this will be the time for Nikki’s campaign to grow and it is when our effort will really launch in full.”
“Presidential campaigns are all about the final 30 days, where we usually see dramatic swings,” he continued. “While it’s unlikely there will be tremendous polling movement before the end of the year, our effort is to build the base for Nikki, whose incredible track record, talent for retail politics and determination to win will allow her to make a strong late move in New Hampshire and Iowa.”
In her campaign’s recently filed report with the Federal Election Commission, Haley raised more than $5.3 million this past quarter and added to her campaign’s cash on hand, which stood at $6.8 million at the end of June. Yet Haley’s polling has remained stagnant in the five months since the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and twice-elected governor of South Carolina launched her bid, generally floating around 4% to 5% nationally,
Her top rivals have more cash in the bank, but Harris said Haley backers have confidence in their financial position. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., who ended the period with roughly $21 million in the bank following a transfer from his Senate account, spent about $1 million more than he raised while DeSantis’ campaign finances show some flashing warning signs.
In the memo, Harris pointed to Scott’s spending, former President Donald Trump having his poll numbers plateau and DeSantis’ rocky start to the campaign as encouraging signs for Haley.
“Over the last few weeks, Trump hit a plateau and has not seen appreciable movement in the polls in the last month,” he wrote, “Looking at the composition of the electorate, he is unlikely to gain ground.”
“It is clear the more people see of Ron DeSantis, the less they like him,” Harris added. “He doesn’t have the character or ability to take on Donald Trump in this primary. And soon, he may not have the means. With the layoff of a dozen staffers only a few short weeks into the race, it’s clear the wheels are coming off the DeSantis train.”