Report: Megadonors to Drop Nikki Haley Before South Carolina Primary

The donor class began to cut off all future funding of former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s campaign after she lost the critical Republican primary in New Hampshire, multiple advisers to political megadonors told the Washington Post Wednesday.

The desertions represent the beginning of the end for Haley’s ability to remain in the race. Haley was the donor class’s choice candidate to block former President Donald Trump, but after his historic victories in Iowa and New Hampshire, Haley’s financial backers apparently see the writing on the wall.

Trump Takes Iowa! Donald Thanks Packed Room of Supporters After Historic Win

Margo Martin via Storyful

Democrat billionaire donor Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, paused donations to pro-Haley PACs. “We invested in Governor Haley when we thought she had a shot of winning. I’d need to see a new case, with new evidence, to persuade me that more money could help her win now,” Hoffman adviser Dmitri Mehlhorn told the Wall Street Journal.

Metal magnate Andy Sabin also ended his financial support for the former South Carolina governor. “You have to know when to hold them. You got to know when to fold them. You got to know when to walk away. It’s time for Nikki Haley to walk away,” Sabin told Fox Business host Neil Cavuto, referencing Kenny Rogers’ hit song “The Gambler.”

“There’s absolutely no upside to her going to South Carolina. And there’s a tremendous downside,” he added. “If you can’t win your own state, there’s no reason to go on.”

The financial setbacks are expected to increase for Haley, one political megadonor adviser told the Post. “Without a New Hampshire win, she doesn’t have the momentum she needed to win South Carolina,” the adviser said. “And without a lane to South Carolina, she has no chance on Super Tuesday.”

Trump increased the pressure on Haley’s donors to end their support of “Birdbrain,” posting on Truth Social on Thursday that “Anybody that makes a ‘Contribtuon’ to Birdbrain, from this moment forth, will be permanently barred from the MAGA camp.”

“We don’t want them, and will not accept them, because we Put America First, and ALWAYS WILL!” he added. 

RELATED — Trump Shades Nikki’s Non-Victory Celebration: She Can’t Get Away with “Bullsh*t!”
C-SPAN

Haley responded by asking for small contributions with a donation link. “Well in that case…donate here. Let’s Go!” she said. 

It appears Trump disarmed the donor class’s control over the GOP electoral process after winning in New Hampshire. The New York Times acknowledged the donor class totally lost control of the Republican Party on Tuesday night and is now “a desperate group of bystanders” after Trump torched Haley in New Hampshire.

The donor class spent more than $167 million in Iowa and New Hampshire against Trump. Yet pro-Haley supporters failed to bring their candidate within single digits of Trump’s massive victory. While pro-Trump spending only amounted to $34.1 million in Iowa and New Hampshire, pro-Haley wasted $31 million in New Hampshire alone to finish second.

“Tuesday night’s results showed that the time is coming to sit shiva for the Republican Party of the Bushes, Cheneys and Romneys. And the donor class that once played an outsize role in shaping the party is now a desperate group of bystanders,” Lisa Lerer, Maggie Haberman, and Jonathan Swan of the Times wrote.

Wendell Husebo is a political reporter with Breitbart News and a former GOP War Room Analyst. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality. Follow Wendell on “X” @WendellHusebø or on Truth Social @WendellHusebo.