Nikki Haley’s super PAC well is running dry.
Federal Election Commission filings show SFA Fund Inc., the main organization backing the former South Carolina governor’s White House bid, has more than $3 million in cash by 2024, far less than the $14 million it had in July.
The drop didn’t bode well for the super PAC, which spent around $300,000 on Haley merchandise like shirts and stickers and hundreds of thousands on “postage.”
Major SFA expenses include advertising, media placement and “filing fees” to get on the state primary ballot.
“We have spent one million [dollars] this week in South Carolina to support Nikki’s cause and have plans to spend millions more next week,” an SFA representative told The Post Thursday. “This is all thanks to our strong and robust fundraising that we have seen since January.”
Meanwhile, Haley’s actual campaign started the election year with $14 million in cash, per FEC filings, up from the $11 million it posted after the third quarter of 2023.
Nikki Haley speaks during a campaign event, ahead of South Carolina’s Republican presidential primary election, in Conway, South Carolina, January 28, 2024. REUTERS
The campaign raised $2.6 million in 48 hours after finishing second behind rival Donald Trump in the New Hampshire primary on January 23, and has used his threat to blacklist his donors as a marketing ploy, earning an additional $150,000 from the sale of T-shirts that read, “ Blocked. permanently.”
Haley is set to hold 10 fundraisers in the coming weeks across the country to boost her campaign coffers ahead of South Carolina’s Feb. 24 primary.
“As long as he can continue fundraising, then he’ll be able to keep his message out there and get it in front of more people,” Palmetto State GOP strategist Dave Wilson told The Post.
“But if that money starts to dwindle, if it doesn’t keep up with the campaign’s demands, it’s really going to call the candidacy into question.”
A supporter of Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley attends a campaign event ahead of South Carolina’s Republican presidential primary election, in Mauldin, South Carolina, January 27, 2024. REUTERS
Meanwhile, the Trump campaign entered 2024 with $33 million in cash on hand.
The main pro-Trump super PAC, MAGA Inc., reported $23 million on hand, down from the $54 million it had in July.
The 77-year-old’s campaign has been plagued by legal fees, with various pro-Trump committees spending about $27 million in the last six months of last year.
“Trump is spending a lot of money on his legal mess, which will only get more expensive in the coming months,” Haley’s campaign said. “Trump spent an astonishing $50 million on legal fees in 2023 and $29 million in the last six months with a lot of fraud going on. In an unusual move, he appears to have transferred $30 million from his super PAC, MAGA Inc., to his Leadership PAC , Save America, so he can pay his legal bills.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
