Big donors are getting nervous
It looks like Nikki Haley may be facing some strong headwinds, not from voters but from big donors and maybe a certain governor who has gone all-in with his endorsement.
The next step in the primary race is New Hampshire. It will be held next week on Tuesday, Jan. 23. Ron DeSantis has all but given up on New Hampshire and is moving his focus on to South Carolina and Nevada. Nikki Haley is not on the Nevada ballot and is trailing Trump in her home state of South Carolina. According to the Real Clear Politics aggregate, in South Carolina Trump is at 52.0, Haley is at 21.8, and DeSantis is at 11.0.
New Hampshire may well be a make or break primary for Nikki Haley. There are rumblings that big donors are getting nervous. Billionaire donor Ken Langone, a co-founder of Home Depot, is hesitant to move forward with his support of Haley. He said Thursday that he is waiting to see the results in New Hampshire’s primary before he gives her campaign “a major gift.” That’s enough to make a campaign nervous. Langone isn’t a never-Trump kind of donor. He will probably support Trump if he is the nominee.
“If she doesn’t get traction in New Hampshire, you don’t throw money down a rat hole,” Langone said, looking to Tuesday’s election.
Langone backed Haley in December, touting her as the best alternative to former President Donald Trump who is also most likely to defeat President Joe Biden in the general election. But after Trump comfortably emerged victorious from the Iowa caucuses, Langone predicted a Biden-Trump rematch in November, saying he would “probably” vote for the former president if he is the GOP nominee.
