Trump maintains lead as Nikki Haley's presidential campaign picks up momentum

Washington: Nikki Haley, an Indian-American politician, appears to be gaining momentum in her bid for the presidency in 2024. She announced a $10 million media blitz in the early primary states of New Hampshire and Iowa in an attempt to further bolster her campaign. Several influential donors from opposing camps have shifted to Haley's side.

Former US President Donald Trump, however, continues to be the most popular leader in the Republican Party with an approval rating of over 60 per cent.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis comes second with nearly 14 per cent. But his popularity, which once was earlier in the 30s, has been declining over the past few months.

On the other hand, riding on her impressive performances in the Republican presidential debates, Haley's popularity has been on the upswing with her approval rating now crossing double digits.

Over the past week, several donors from the rival camps have moved to her side. Prominent among them include Harlan Crow and Bruce Kovner of Caxton Alternative Management. Ken Griffin who previously supported her rival Senator Tim Scott has also announced extending his support to Haley.

Encouraged by the development, the Nikki Haley for President campaign announced on Monday that it will book $10 million in TV, radio, and digital advertising across Iowa and New Hampshire from the first week of December.

Haley is the only candidate devoting major resources to both Iowa and New Hampshire, and the only Republican hopeful other than Donald Trump who is positioned to do well in both the states as well as in South Carolina, according to a media release.

Haley for President campaign manager Betsy Ankney said, "Nikki Haley's momentum and path to victory are clear. 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." "Nikki's campaign is built to win the primary against Donald Trump and all polls show she is by far the strongest Republican against Joe Biden in the general. After Republican losses in 2020, 2022, and 2023, it's time to leave behind the chaos and drama and nominate a new generation of conservative leadership," Ankney said.

The campaign said that while Ron DeSantis is desperately staking his entire campaign on Iowa, Haley will at least double DeSantis' cash-strapped advertising in Iowa alone while he has abandoned New Hampshire advertising altogether.

DeSantis' campaign finished the third quarter with $5 million in primary cash on hand and $1 million in debt and proceeded to spend half of that on Iowa TV. Haley's campaign ended the third quarter with $9.1 million in primary cash on hand, no debt, and just had its best month of fundraising in the entire campaign.

"She is now second in leading polls in all the early states. Haley enters the early states in a very strong financial and political position to contest Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina," her campaign said.

With PTI inputs