Haley assets growingHaley is getting stronger by some measures.Her campaign has raised $5 million from small-dollar donors in the days since she finished in second place in New Hampshire, according to spokesperson Nachama Soloveichik. She’s also in the midst of a four-state fundraising tour that will feature at least 10 closed-door events with wealthy donors. This week’s initial swing through New York netted more than $1.5 million, Soloveichik said.Republican fundraiser Eric Levine, who co-hosted one of the New York events, said the few hundred Haley donors who gathered earlier in the week “remain as committed to Haley as ever.”Haley campaign manager Betsy Ankney highlighted the candidate’s commitment to the race during a meeting with some of the GOP’s leading donors earlier in the week in Florida, according to two Republican officials in the room granted anonymity to share private discussions. Trump senior adviser Susie Wiles also delivered a presentation to the group, which was designed to highlight the former president’s tightening grip on the nomination.Many major donors remain critical of Trump, but some of the biggest would-be Haley supporters are essentially in a holding pattern ahead of South Carolina’s Feb. 24 primary. They believe she is essentially fully funded for the rest of the month and there’s little more they can do in the short term, according to the officials.Two of the group’s founders, billionaire hedge fund managers Ken Griffin and Paul Singer, each donated $5 million to Haley’s 2024 bid in recent weeks, according to federal filings made public this week.Trump also continues to report strong fundraising totals. But his legal troubles are consuming a huge portion of his donors’ dollars.Two of Trump’s political action committees spent roughly $50 million in donor funds on the former president’s legal fees last year, according to federal filings made public this week. And his legal costs are continuing to grow.Haley’s aggressive strategyHaley has begun to ratchet up attacks against Trump, a deliberate strategy designed to highlight the former president’s glaring liabilities, including his legal baggage and his age.The campaign lumped Trump and Biden together in a new attack ad this week calling them “Grumpy Old Men.” She’s also working to link the 77-year-old Trump’s refusal to debate to questions about his mental acuity. And in a Wednesday interview on the “Breakfast Club” radio program, she blamed Trump for the state of the nation’s politics.“He’s made it chaotic,” she said. “He’s made it self-absorbed.”Her message appears to be resonating with a key group of swing voters who play a pivotal role in general elections.In New Hampshire’s recent primary, for example, Trump won a decisive victory against Haley backed by his popularity among traditional Republican voters. But he lost a majority of moderates and about two-thirds of those who identify as independents, according to AP VoteCast. He also lost about 6 in 10 who have college degrees, and he’s shown a persistent vulnerability among voters living in suburbs.But the Republican base is still decidedly behind Trump. And a growing group of Republican elected officials on Capitol Hill are calling for Haley to quit the race. Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel said recently that it was time to unite behind Trump.B.J. Hopper, an 81-year-old self-described “Never Trumper, is doubtful that Haley will catch Trump, but she attended Thursday’s stop in South Carolina’s capital city because she’s trying to be hopeful.“It’d be a miracle,” Hopper said of a Haley victory in the state’s upcoming primary.As much of the attention shifts to South Carolina, Haley’s campaign insists her goal there isn’t to win, but simply to show growth compared to New Hampshire. She’s building campaign infrastructure in next-up Michigan and several states that host primary contests on March 5, also known as “Super Tuesday.”The Haley campaign has already rolled out leadership teams and “Women for Nikki” chapters in all 15 Super Tuesday states. A pro-Haley super PAC is also coordinating get-out-the-vote efforts in South Carolina, Michigan and multiple super Tuesday states. That’s in addition to the Koch-backed conservative group, Americans for Prosperity, which has devoted its army of grassroots activists on the ground in several key states to helping Haley.
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