Nikki Haley’s $10M Ad Campaign To Try And Overtake DeSantis

(RepublicanReport.org) – Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley (R) is doubling down in her efforts to overtake Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) in the Republican presidential primary race. Her campaign has reserved $10 million in airtime and digital advertising set to begin in December. The ads will play in Iowa and New Hampshire ahead of the early votes in an effort to compete against frontrunner Donald Trump.

Haley intends to run her ads in each state through their caucus and primary election dates, while DeSantis only has ads slated in Iowa. The Associated Press received word of Haley’s spending plan ahead of her announcement on Monday, November 13. It notes that the South Carolina longshot will be shelling out over five times more than DeSantis during the same time period. The Florida leader has managed to cling to the second-place spot behind Trump, but his campaign has shown indications as of late that it’s suffering financially.

Both Haley and DeSantis each saw small bumps in voter interest following the third GOP primary debate, although the small success still might be too little, too late to overtake Trump. An NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll showed the MAGA leader with 43% of the vote. DeSantis and Haley shared the second-place spot, with each claiming 16% of their party’s support.

Money, and how wisely each candidate uses it, could ultimately be a deciding factor. DeSantis’ campaign only had $5 million available in its budget at the end of September, although it reportedly gained millions more through recent fundraising efforts. South Carolina Senator Tim Scott (R) had planned to spend $7.6 million in Iowa through the state’s caucus, but his lackluster performance throughout the months failed to raise his profile, and he decided on November 12 to drop out. Trump’s committee reported over $37.5 million in September.

Nationally, according to FiveThirtyEight, Haley continues to trail both Trump and DeSantis in the polls. Whereas as of November 14, the former president stands firmly ahead with 58.6% of Republican support, and the Florida governor is at a lengthy second with 14.1%, Haley trails in third with 9%.