The GOP presidential campaign of former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has announced a $10 million ad buy—exemplifying her effort to replace Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as the Republican presidential alternative to former President Donald Trump.
The buy will cover TV, radio, and digital ads in Iowa and New Hampshire starting in December, according to a Nov. 13 campaign statement.
“Nikki Haley’s momentum and path to victory are clear,” said Haley campaign manager Betsy Ankney in the statement.
“The same can’t be said for Ron DeSantis, who, even with a decent showing in Iowa, can’t afford a cup of coffee at the Red Arrow Diner in New Hampshire and is a mere tourist in South Carolina,” she continued.
Debate Exemplifies Rivalry
The announcement comes just days following the Nov. 8 debate.Ms. Haley, who is also a former United States ambassador to the United Nations, sparred with Mr. DeSantis at the third GOP presidential primary debate in Miami on issues ranging from oil drilling and fracking to China.
Meanwhile, former President Trump held a rally in nearby Hialeah.
Ms. Haley reiterated her criticism that Mr. DeSantis banned oil drilling and fracking off the coast of Florida, which he denied despite Ms. Haley being correct.
Her campaign called out Mr. DeSantis in a statement hours before the debate in response to the GOP losing big in the Nov. 7 off-year elections.
In Virginia, the GOP lost control of the House of Delegates while Democrats maintained control of the state Senate. In Ohio, voters approved a constitutional amendment making abortion available until fetal viability, which is usually 23 to 24 weeks into a pregnancy.
Haley Ups Attacks on DeSantis and Trump
Over the past several weeks, Ms. Haley ramped up criticisms of Mr. DeSantis and President Trump.On Oct. 28, all three were among eight GOP presidential hopefuls who addressed the influential Republican Jewish Coalition, which co-sponsored the third debate. More than 1,000 people attended the event at the Venetian Resort’s conference center in Las Vegas.
She credited President Trump for being “pro-Israel” and for his accomplishments on behalf of the Jewish state. These include negotiating the historic Abraham Accords, pulling out of a nuclear deal with Iran, and moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, lending recognition to that city as the capital of the Jewish state.
But Ms. Haley also argued that she deserves Americans’ votes more than President Trump does and that the GOP needs a candidate who can beat President Biden.
In many polls, President Trump is slightly ahead or in a statistical tie with Democrat President Joe Biden.
Although Ms. Haley said that “every poll” shows her beating President Biden, RealClearPolitics reveals mixed results for a hypothetical matchup between Ms. Haley and the Democrat incumbent. The polls’ average shows her beating President Biden by 1.6 percent; President Trump is 0.5 percent ahead of him.
Ms. Haley took a swipe at her fellow Republican candidates, including President Trump, when she said: “There are plenty of Democrats and Republicans who fail to understand the nature of the threats we face. You’ve already heard from some of them today. And I’m not today’s last speaker.”
President Trump’s speech immediately followed Haley’s. Her jab at him drew a smattering of applause.
She also declared that she would not make controversial remarks similar to those President Trump recently made. “I will not compliment Hezbollah, nor will I criticize Israel’s prime minister in the middle of a tragedy,” the former South Carolina governor said.
Ms. Haley was referring to an Oct. 11 speech in West Palm Beach, Florida, where President Trump disclosed that Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had backed out of the 2020 U.S. strike that “took out” Iranian terrorist Qasem Soleimani.
Four days before that speech, Hamas terrorists had invaded Israel, plunging Mr. Netanyahu’s nation into war.
President Trump drew fire for being critical of the Israeli leader at such a time. The Trump campaign retorted that the former president repeatedly declared his devotion to Israel throughout that same speech and that some of his remarks were taken out of context.
When he described Hezbollah terrorists as “smart,” he was cautioning that they are cunning and should not be underestimated, the Trump campaign said.
Harry DeMell, a retired New York lawyer, told The Epoch Times that Ms. Haley’s criticisms of the Republican frontrunner, President Trump, became more aggressive at the RJC conference.
She felt emboldened after fellow Republican presidential candidate Mike Pence, who served as President Trump’s vice president from 2017 to 2021, announced that he was exiting the race, Mr. DeMell said.
Previously, Ms. Haley seemed to be “running for vice president,” and “didn’t want to step on Trump’s toes,” said Mr. DeMell. He listened to Ms. Haley, Mr. Pence, and President Trump speak at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s Las Vegas summit.
Mr. DeMell, who is Jewish, said Mr. Pence’s withdrawal from the race moved him to tears. He had intended to vote for the former vice president.
“Pence had integrity, and that’s exactly what we should want. Now, I support Nikki Haley. She has that, too,” he said.
Mr. DeMell said he had previously voted for President Trump but became “disillusioned” over the former president’s personal attacks against those who cross him politically.
He said she was making a clear reference to President Trump when she said, “We cannot have four years of chaos, vendettas, and drama,” while confronting the volatile world political situation surrounding the Israel-Hamas war.
Haley Focuses Ads on DeSantis
Pollster Rich Baris noted that, in some surveys, she outpolls Mr. DeSantis.An Oct. 31 CNN poll was “devastating” to Mr. DeSantis, Mr. Baris said. It showed that “he’s way behind Nikki Haley in her home state of South Carolina, where he had been ahead of her.”
Ms. Haley and Mr. DeSantis are “just swapping supporters at this point,” Mr. Baris said during his Nov. 1 podcast.
Mr. DeSantis “is no longer the de facto runner-up candidate,” he added, noting that Ms. Haley has risen in the polls while Mr. DeSantis has trended downward.
The SFA Fund Inc., a super political action committee backing Ms. Haley, released ads accusing Mr. DeSantis of “lying” and being “desperate.”
President Trump’s campaign weighed in, saying: “When two candidates decide to fight each other for distant second place, there are bound to be brutal attack ads from each side.”
A Nov. 7 Haley ad points to Mr. DeSantis banning offshore oil drilling and fracking off Florida. During the Sept. 27 debate, Ms. Haley had correctly noted this, which Mr. DeSantis denied.
After multiple polls showed Mr. DeSantis behind Ms. Haley, the Florida governor took jabs at Ms. Haley “to claw his way back for a consolation prize,” the Trump campaign said in a Nov. 1 statement. But Mr. DeSantis didn’t expect her “to take a flamethrower to his face in retaliation,” the Trump campaign said, referring to the Haley campaign’s mid-October ad.
The DeSantis campaign issued a statement dismissive of Ms. Haley.
“As Americans look behind the curtain, they will see she does not have the extensive record of conservative achievements that Ron DeSantis boasts,” DeSantis campaign communications director Andrew Romeo told The Epoch Times.
“It’s clear there is no way Nikki Haley can beat Donald Trump, and every dollar spent on her candidacy is an in-kind to the Trump Campaign,” he continued. ”Ron DeSantis has the best combination of endorsements, ground game, and message in the early states, which is why the former president continues to attack only him. We are confident the Iowa voters will see who will best represent them and their values.”
Ms. Haley missed an opportunity to maintain her momentum, though it was apparently due to family reasons. Two weeks ago, she didn’t attend the GOP Florida Freedom Summit in a state crucial in the later primaries if President Trump does not lock up the party’s nomination by then.
The Florida GOP incentivizes candidates to sign their papers and pay $25,000 at the conference to appear on the state’s ballot. Those who do not must pay $100,000. Therefore, Haley’s absence “must have been for a good reason because it cost her $75,000,” according to a source familiar with the situation.
Nonetheless, outside of campaign spending, the rivalry between Ms. Haley and Mr. DeSantis is priceless, with the currency being verbal attacks. Expect to see more of that ahead of the fourth GOP primary debate on Dec. 6.
