Nikki Haley heads to California on Wednesday, where the Republican presidential candidate is scheduled to headline her first rally in any of the 15 states that hold nominating contests on Super Tuesday in early March.
Ahead of her western campaign and fundraising swing, the former two-term South Carolina governor who later served as U.N. ambassador in former President Donald Trump's administration is aiming to spotlight her momentum as she faces a steep uphill climb for the 2024 GOP nomination against her former boss.
Haley's team says they hauled in $16.5 million in fundraising last month across all of their campaign committees, including $11.7 million from small-dollar grassroots supporters.
The January haul – Haley's best fundraising month to date – was first reported Sunday by Axios and confirmed by Fox News. Haley's campaign also said they added nearly 70,000 donors last month.
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Haley has seen her fundraising continue to increase since launching her presidential campaign a year ago. She raised $7.3 million during the April-June second quarter of 2023 fundraising, $11 million during the July-September third quarter, and over $24 million during the final three months of last year, as first reported by Fox News.
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"Hundreds of thousands of Americans are supporting Nikki’s campaign because they don’t want two grumpy old men and all their chaos, confusion and grievances. They want a strong, conservative leader who will save this country," Haley campaign spokesperson Olivia Perez-Cubas argued, as she took aim at the 77-year-old Trump and 81-year-old President Biden.
Once a very long shot for the nomination, Haley enjoyed momentum in the polls in the late summer and autumn, thanks in part to well-received performances in the first three GOP presidential primary debates.
She's the final major rival to Trump in a GOP presidential field that expanded to nearly 15 candidates last summer before shrinking.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dropped out of the race last month, two days ahead of the Jan. 23 New Hampshire primary, making the nomination race a two-candidate showdown between Haley and Trump, who's the commanding frontrunner as he runs a third straight time for the White House.
Haley captured 43% of the vote in New Hampshire, trailing Trump by 11 points.
She and her team have repeatedly spotlighted her grassroots fundraising in the days since the New Hampshire primary. And Haley held fundraisers last week with top dollar GOP donors in New York City and South Florida, with similar finance events scheduled for California this week, as well as Texas.
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The next major contest on the Republican schedule is Haley's home state, which holds its GOP primary on Feb. 24. The latest public opinion survey indicates the former president has a formidable 26-point lead over Haley.
But Haley said she doesn't need to win in South Carolina to keep her campaign for the Republican presidential nomination alive.
"Success means being competitive. Closing the gap. Making sure we can continue to go forward as we go into Super Tuesday," Haley emphasized in a Fox News Digital interview last Thursday.
Haley, speaking with Fox News after a campaign event at a popular eatery in the Palmetto State's capital city, reiterated her goalposts.
"It’s just about keeping that momentum going. We got 20% in Iowa. We got 43% in New Hampshire. Let’s bring it a little bit closer so that we can get closer in to him [Trump] and make it more competitive going into Super Tuesday," she emphasized.
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Thirty-six percent of all Republican presidential delegates will be up for grabs in the primaries and caucuses held on Super Tuesday, which this year will take place on March 5.
Since her 11-point loss to Trump on Jan. 23 in New Hampshire, Haley has faced calls to drop out, so Trump can start focusing on defeating President Biden in November's general election.
But Haley emphasized that "we're not going anywhere."
"This is about just closing that gap," she added. "We have a country to save, and I am determined to keep on going the entire way as long as we can keep closing that gap."
Trump has repeatedly slammed Haley since she announced on primary night in New Hampshire that she would continue her presidential campaign.
On Sunday, Trump took to his Truth Social plaform to charge that Haley was a "Failed Political Candidate."
