Nikki Haley touts $24M fundraising, sharpens Trump attacks
Former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign took in $24 million in the final three months of 2023, more than double her second-biggest quarterly intake, her campaign announced Wednesday.
The 51-year-old’s campaign received $11 million between July 1 and Sept. 30 of last year, and the former South Carolina governor now has has $14.5 million cash on hand with a grand total of $50 million raised since launching her run last February.
“This is a two-person race between Nikki Haley and Donald Trump,” campaign manager Betsy Ankney said in a statement.
“Nikki is the only Trump alternative with the voter support, the operation, and the resources to go the distance. Our momentum continues to build as we head into 2024.”
During the fourth quarter, the campaign claimed, it was backed by 83,900 new donors, bringing the total individual donor count up to 180,000 across all committees.
Haley, the former South Carolina governor, is the first major 2024 hopeful to reveal her fourth-quarter fundraising numbers, which candidates must file with the Federal Election Commission by Jan. 15, the same date as the Iowa caucuses.
During the final three months of the year, Haley was boosted by the endorsement of billionaire Home Depot co-founder Kenneth Langone, as well as the Koch brothers-founded Americans for Prosperity Action.
News of Haley’s fundraising boon came as she dialed up a rare attack on former President Donald Trump as his campaign turns its focus to her from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“In his commercials and in his temper tantrums, every single thing that he’s said has been a lie,” Haley told New Hampshire voters of the 77-year-old Tuesday.
Haley’s jab at Trump came in response to an ad put out by the Make American Great Again Super PAC that dubbed her “High Tax Haley” over her handling of a proposal to up South Carolina’s gas tax while governor of that state.
The plan was ultimately rejected by the legislature after Haley demanded it be offset by a steeper income tax cut.
“If he’s going to lie about me, I’m going to tell you the truth about him,” Haley added. “President Trump proposed a 25-cent gas tax increase in 2018.”
“Everyone talks about how good the economy was under Trump,” she added. “It was, right? But at what cost? He put us $8 trillion in debt in just four years.”
Haley is set to debate DeSantis in Iowa on Jan. 10 in a showdown moderated by CNN. Trump will skip that verbal bout in favor of holding a town hall with Fox News.
“I think she’s had a very difficult time recently because her, she had been pumped up by liberal media, which I understand — she’s the liberal candidate running,” DeSantis told Fox News Wednesday.
“Now she’s come under scrutiny, and she’s not been able to handle basic questions that people are asking.”
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