Politics
Koch Network supports Haley 2024 bid to take down Trump
By Jake Beardslee · November 28, 2023
In brief…
- Koch-backed group endorses Haley for president to challenge Trump
- Massive political network ready to deploy resources for Haley
- Alliance follows years of on-again, off-again relations with Trump
The political organization largely funded by billionaire Charles Koch has thrown its support behind Nikki Haley for president, giving the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations a boost in the Republican primary race against frontrunner Donald Trump.
On Tuesday, the pro-Koch political action committee Americans for Prosperity Action offered their endorsement to Nikki Haley for president, concluding a year-long process of evaluating potential Republican candidates who could mount a credible challenge to Donald Trump for the party’s 2024 nomination, the group stated in a memo announcing their decision. The organization stated that Haley “has what it takes to lead a policy agenda to take on our nation’s biggest challenges and help ensure our country’s best days are ahead,” CNBC reported.
With its vast grassroots network and data capabilities, the group said it is “better equipped” than any other “to help her do it.”
According to the endorsement memo, the influential Koch political network possesses substantial resources that it is ready to deploy in aid of Nikki Haley’s presidential run, as well as to challenge Donald Trump’s dominant position in the race for the Republican party’s 2024 nomination.
So far in the 2024 election cycle, Americans for Prosperity Action has spent millions of dollars running advertisements opposing Donald Trump, making the case that he would be defeated by Joe Biden if he became the Republican nominee in a general election match-up.
In addition to its grassroots volunteers and paid staff across the country, the PAC has raised over $70 million dollars since the start of the 2024 election. Billionaire Charles Koch, who helps finance the group, has a net worth topping $50 billion according to Forbes magazine.
The endorsement of Haley signals a new chapter in the complicated ties between Trump and groups linked to the Koch political network. During Trump’s first presidential term, Koch-allied organizations saw victories on policies like tax cuts and Supreme Court confirmations. But they’ve also quarreled with the ex-president, including over his trade war against China.
Likewise, Trump has blasted the Koch network as representing “globalist” elites that his supporters “despise.” In a 2018 tweet, Trump called them “a total joke in real Republican circles” who oppose his stances on borders and trade.