JUST IN: Koch network stops spending on Nikki Haley’s campaign for president

Politico had the scoop, obtaining an internal email.

Americans For Prosperity CEO Emily Seidel stated that the organization's political branch, AFP Action, needs to "take stock" of expenditure priorities following Nikki Haley's defeat in the South Carolina primary. Seidel mentioned that the Koch-affiliated group will redirect its attention towards competitive Senate and House races.

"She has made it clear that she will continue to fight and we wholeheartedly support her in this effort. But given the challenges in the primary states ahead, we don’t believe any outside group can make a material difference to widen her path to victory" Seidel said.

In the lead-up to the presidential primary, AFP Action allocated resources for advertisements and on-the-ground operations throughout the preceding year, urging Republican voters to support an alternative candidate to Trump. However, it was only in late November that AFP Action officially endorsed Nikki Haley as their preferred alternative to Trump. Subsequently, AFP has engaged with over 3 million voters in states with early nominating contests and Super Tuesday, while also investing millions of dollars in advertisements advocating for Haley.

AFP Action deciding not to support Haley is another setback for her unlikely run for president. She has already faced defeats in four early voting states and the Virgin Islands. Recently, on Saturday, former President Donald Trump won against Haley in her home state by a significant margin of 20 points.

Haley has only committed to stay in the race up until Super Tuesday.

The entirety of the internal email follows:

First and foremost, thank you. For the past several months you’ve sacrificed a lot to lead AFP Action’s early state strategy in the presidential primary and to support our earliest endorsement efforts ever in key Senate and House races. Over 3 million voter contacts. Incredible! Thank you.

With every door you’ve knocked, every phone call you’ve made, AFP Action’s grassroots capability has grown stronger. Not only will these efforts pay off in November, but they help ensure that AFP Action is a force to be reckoned with for years to come. With our early state strategies in Iowa, New Hampshire, and now South Carolina behind us and the Senate contests taking shape, it’s time to assess where we are in our broader 2024 strategy.

When we launched AFP Action’s 2024 elections strategy, it had 3 prongs: The Republican presidential primary, the U.S. Senate, and the U.S. House. As we said last year, this gives us “3 ways to win” – 3 opportunities to prevent the greatest threat from this election cycle: one-party progressive rule and the resulting damage to our system of constitutionally limited government.

Each of these 3 prongs has its own timeline and likelihood of success. And the U.S. Senate strategy has always been our top priority because it has the best chance of success and of making the greatest difference – it’s the “firewall”. With the South Carolina presidential primary this weekend and the Senate engagement really heating up, it’s time to take stock of where we are and – as we always do – make sure we’re optimizing our resources for maximum impact towards our goals.

The Presidential Primary

AFP Action stands firm behind our endorsement for Nikki Haley. It takes a special leader with conviction, resolve, and steel in her spine to jump into a tough race with a narrow path. Nikki Haley has been willing to take on that challenge and offer America a forward-looking vision and solutions to the toughest issues our country faces. She is by far the best candidate to turn the page on our dysfunctional politics and take our country in a new, positive direction. As we’ve discussed since the endorsement in November, we knew the presidential primary faced the longest odds – but we also knew given what’s at stake, we couldn’t sit on the sidelines.

This organization exists to do hard things. To challenge the status quo. To stick our necks out and lead. Americans deserve a choice for president who brings out the best in our country and who can deliver bold solutions to big challenges. Nikki Haley has shown us again and again that we made the right decision in supporting her candidacy and she continues to have our strong endorsement. She has made it clear that she will continue to fight and we wholeheartedly support her in this effort. But given the challenges in the primary states ahead, we don’t believe any outside group can make a material difference to widen her path to victory. And so while we will continue to endorse her, we will focus our resources where we can make the difference. And that’s the U.S. Senate and House. If Donald Trump is at the top of the Republican ticket, the risk of one-party rule by a Democratic Party captured by the Progressive Left is severe and would do irreparable damage to the country. The last 3 election cycles have painted a very clear picture of what we can expect from voters who consistently rejected Donald Trump and his impact on the Republican party brand.

This has been reinforced by the recent elections in Virginia in 2023 and the special elections in New York and Pennsylvania just this month. And we should expect this to increase further as the criminal trials progress.

The Senate & The House

This election will be decided by swing voters. And Joe Biden leads Donald Trump 2 to 1 amongst independents. The most important – and hardest – thing we may need to do is convince millions of voters who will never cast a ballot for Donald Trump to vote for Republican candidates for Senate and House who will advance our shared principles.

AFP Action has done this before and we are confident we can do it again. We’ve already endorsed candidates in four competitive states – Nevada, Montana, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin – and we intend to endorse in the other two (Ohio and Michigan). We have a lot of work left to do – and no time to waste. We’ve already launched major digital and mail buys in the Montana, Nevada, and Pennsylvania U.S. Senate races.

Additionally, in the U.S. House we’ve already announced nearly two dozen endorsements and are prepared to engage in more than 100 House races, if necessary. As those of you who are out there braving the Montana winter to advocate for Tim Sheehy know well - we’re already well underway on these efforts. As we said last year, we believe our country desperately needs to turn the page on the current political era in Washington, D.C. and get back to advancing good policy that will improve lives.