Billionaire and key Republican donor Charles Koch today endorsed Nikki Haley as the best bet to beat Donald Trump in the GOP primaries, conspiciously dumping previous beneficiary Ron DeSantis in favor of the former U.N. ambassador.
The announcement was made in a memo to grassroots activists via the network's advocacy arm Tuesday and is being backed by a multimillion-dollar ad campaign beginning this week in states that hold early primary contests and several that vote on Super Tuesday.
"When we announced our decision to engage in our first ever Republican presidential primary, we made it clear that we'd be looking for a candidate who can turn the page on our political dysfunction — and win. It's clear that candidate is Nikki Haley," Emily Seidel, senior advisor to AFP Action, said in a statement. "Nikki Haley represents a new generation of leadership and offers a bold, positive vision for our future. AFP Action is proud to be endorsing her and we will be doing everything we can to help make her the next President of the United States."
DeSantis is fading while Haley is improving her standing, and thence goes the money. DeSantis appears to be banking everything on a strong Iowa performance, but she is now within his margin of error there—and way ahead of him in New Hampshire and South Carolina. Trump, of course, is so far ahead of all of them that it all seems rather desperate and academic.
