Nikki Haley has lost the New Hampshire primary despite enjoying a massive ad spending advantage fueled by groups like the Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity Action, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings and a report released by AdImpact.
Pro-Haley groups spent $30.4 million on advertisements supporting her candidacy, compared to just $15.7 million spent on ads supporting Trump, according to a report released by AdImpact on Monday. Americans for Prosperity Action, a super PAC established by the libertarian-leaning Koch network, did some major lifting for Haley in the lead-up to New Hampshire’s primary, spending $611,558 attacking Trump in the state since Jan. 16 and more than $1.5 million boosting Haley, according to records kept by the FEC.
The most mentioned issues in New Hampshire primary advertisements were immigration, the economy, personal character, China, Joe Biden and terrorism, among others, according to AdImpact’s report. (RELATED: Nikki Haley Scolds Crowd For Booing Climate Protesters Disrupting Campaign Event)
The Associated Press called the race for Trump on Tuesday night. Trump leads New Hampshire with 54.5% of the vote to Haley’s 43.2% as of writing, according to The New York Times.
“This race is far from over,” Haley told a crowd in Concord, New Hampshire, after conceding defeat.
“There are dozens of states left to go. The next one is my sweet state of South Carolina.”
Haley had previously vowed to keep her campaign running even if she lost in New Hampshire. Americans for Prosperity Action appears poised to support Haley in her continuing campaign, having spent more than $2.1 million supporting Haley in South Carolina since Jan. 3, according to FEC records.
South Carolina’s Feb. 25 primary is the next state where Haley will be eligible to win delegates. Nevada’s elections occur about two weeks earlier, however, Haley is only on the ballot for the state’s nonbinding primary election, not the state’s caucus where delegates are at stake, ABC News reported.
Haley also received substantial backing in New Hampshire from Defending Democracy Together (DDT), a group co-founded by ex-Republican Bill Kristol and funded by the Sixteen Thirty Fund, a prolific Democrat-aligned dark money group. DDT has spent just under $100,000 boosting Haley since Jan. 16, according to the FEC.
(Photo by JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images)
Tuesday’s primary has substantial implications for the financial future of Haley’s campaign.
Multiple major Haley donors told CNBC that they were not confident Haley could clinch the nomination if she wasn’t successful in New Hampshire.
One billionaire Haley donor, Home Depot co-founder Ken Langone, told the Financial Times on Jan. 18 that he was waiting for the results of the New Hampshire primary before deciding whether or not to make a “major gift” to Haley’s presidential effort.
“If she doesn’t get traction in New Hampshire, you don’t throw money down a rat hole,” he said. Langone suggested that he would “probably” vote for Trump in the general election if Haley didn’t win the nomination.
The Haley campaign, Trump campaign and Americans for Prosperity Action did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.
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