The political network created by the billionaire businessman Koch brothers announced on Sunday that it would end its support for Nikki Haley in the presidential race after her recent loss in South Carolina.
Americans for Prosperity Action, Raise Ms. Haley, Donald J. It also spent tens of millions of dollars trying to prevent Trump from changing his name. New Hampshire primary last month. The organization made its decision official on Sunday.
“Given the challenges in early primary states, we don't believe any outside group can make a big enough difference to widen his path to victory,” Emily Seidel, chief executive of Americans for Prosperity, wrote in an email to staff. . The email was first reported by Politico.
Ms. Seidel wrote that the committee will now focus on the House and Senate races, and Mr. The conservative establishment is concerned about the political repercussions of Trump winning the GOP nomination.
“If Donald Trump is at the top of the Republican ticket, the risk of one-party rule by the Democratic Party usurped by the progressive left is grave,” he wrote.
Ms. Seidel described how the last three elections showed “what we can expect from voters who have consistently rejected Donald Trump and his impact on the Republican brand.”
Ms. Haley's campaign announced that it had raised $1 million less than 24 hours after the polls closed Saturday in South Carolina, where she lost her home state. He has vowed to stay in the race through Super Tuesday on March 5.
In a statement, the Haley campaign hailed Americans for Prosperity as an ally.
“We thank them for their immense help in this race,” the statement said. “Our fight continues and with more than $1 million from grassroots conservatives in the last 24 hours, we have plenty of fuel to keep going. There's a country to save.
The panel's approval, announced in November, was significant for Ms Haley. He is Mr. It came as he tried to gain traction against Trump, especially given how small his team was at the time. This gave him access to direct mail operations, allowing field workers to knock on doors and make phone calls to prospective voters in Iowa and other states.
Despite those efforts, however, Ms. Haley finished a distant third behind Mr. Trump in Iowa. A person close to the network said it focused on reaching grassroots voters in the final stretch as far as South Carolina, as opposed to advertising.
After word of the group's withdrawal became public, Mr. Trump tweeted on his social media website that Charles Koch “and his team played for suckers from the start!”
