White House moneymen: Meet the donors trying to will Nikki Haley to the presidency
Gabe Kaminsky
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As Nikki Haley continues her uphill climb to get to the White House come 2024, the ex-United Nations ambassador has been showered with donations from billionaire megadonors and ex-allies of former President Donald Trump, Wall Street executives, heads of popular brands, and South Carolina moguls, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
Haley, the former governor of South Carolina between 2011 and 2017, is viewed by the conservative wing of the Republican Party as more centrist than Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) or Trump. The 2024 GOP primary field continues to grow, though it has appeared to be a two-man race so far between Trump and DeSantis, who has not yet announced a White House bid.
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A RealClearPolitics polling average for the Republican presidential primary finds Trump with 52.2% support, DeSantis garnering 23.1%, the undeclared ex-Vice President Mike Pence at 5.4%, and Haley at 4.1%. Other Republicans are polling under 3%, including Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), who is set to announce his campaign on May 22 and clocks in at an average of 2.3%.
Haley’s campaign, a joint fundraising committee called Team Stand For America, and leadership PAC called Stand for America, reported in mid-April to the FEC hauling in roughly $11 million since launching her bid on Feb. 15. This included $1.8 million that her campaign received from her joint fundraising committee, which transferred $900,000 to her leadership PAC.
“Haley’s initial haul was impressive relative to her current standing in the polls,” Zach Hunter, a senior Republican strategist and ex-vice president of the Congressional Leadership Fund and American Action Network, told the Washington Examiner. “Time will tell if Haley can translate her early cash into support and turn this two-man race into a more competitive contest.”
Trumpworld
Haley has so far been boosted by former Trump donors, including Harold Hamm, the billionaire chair of the oil and gas company Continental Resources. Hamm, who advised Trump on energy policy and was reportedly considered to be his Energy Secretary, contributed $6,600 to Haley’s campaign, $16,600 to Team Stand for America PAC, and $5,000 to Stand for America PAC in March, disclosures show.
“Loyalty’s a big thing with us — it’s very necessary with leaders,” Hamm told the Financial Times in January 2022. “And I wish Trump could have been a lot more loyal to his people. To whom was he disloyal? Everyone around him that worked hard.”
Bernard Marcus, the billionaire co-founder of Home Depot who donated tens of millions of dollars to pro-Trump PACs, has given over $43,000 since 2021 to Haley committees. He previously donated $10 million combined in 2020 to Preserve America PAC, which pro-Trump Republicans founded in 2020 and which aims to push back on President Joe Biden’s “radical” agenda, according to disclosures and its website.
Two others who have heavily boosted Trump in the past and have recently supported Haley are Texas billionaire oil executive Jeffrey Hildebrand and his wife, Melinda Hildebrand, who combined have given over $24,000 to pro-Haley committees.
Ex-Trump White House lawyer Ty Cobb, who in September 2022 alleged that the former president is a “deeply wounded narcissist” who acted in a “criminal” manner while urging Pence to block Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 election, has given $15,000 to pro-Haley committees since 2021.
The contributions are a window into the initial dynamics of 2024, an election that Republican activists and donors fear will see Biden elected to a second term. Conservatives are divided on which candidate presents the best vision of the Republican Party, as well as who could garner enough support from independents and moderate Democrats who view Trump as too inflammatory and controversy-plagued.
“I wouldn’t read too much into small donations from Hamm or Marcus,” a longtime senior Trumpworld operative told the Washington Examiner. “I suspect she will have to prove that she genuinely has a path to the nomination before big money starts flowing her way.”
The Trump operative added that Haley’s “biggest issue contending for the nomination” or becoming someone’s vice presidential pick is that Haley is a “perfect 2008 Republican” whose style of conservatism is “180 degrees away from where the party is today.”
Ozzie Palomo, who has been fundraising for Haley and is co-founder of the lobbying firm Chartwell Strategy Group, pushed back on the idea that Haley’s policies don’t represent Republican voters. He personally donated $13,200 in February to pro-Haley committees, disclosures show.
“The attack that she’s a yesteryear Republican falls flat because you see the crowds that she’s drawing in and you see the message that she’s putting out there,” Palomo told the Washington Examiner. “She’s the only candidate as of right now that has put out thoughtful policy papers on issues of the day that Republicans need to take on to not just win the primary, but the general.”
“Look no further than her position on abortion and as far as domestic issues like school choice,” he added. “So, I don’t buy into the fact that she’s a yesteryear Republican or anything.”
Haley has described herself as “unapologetic and unhesitant” about being anti-abortion and called for a “national consensus” on the issue, such as ensuring mothers are not pressured into having abortions, promoting adoption, and expanding medical care for babies born during failed abortions.
Wall Street
Aryeh Bourkoff, a finance mogul who is CEO of the private investment banking firm LionTree, donated $16,600 to Team Stand for America in March, $6,600 to Haley’s campaign, and $5,000 to Stand for America PAC, disclosures show. Bourkoff has often supported Democrats, giving almost $42,000 to the Obama Victory Fund in 2012, over $33,000 to the Hillary Clinton Victory Fund in 2016, and over $150,000 to the Democratic National Committee from 2012 to 2016.
In the first quarter, executives at the companies Goldman Sachs, Susquehanna International Group, UBS Group, and Tiger Management, donated over $91,500 combined to Haley’s campaign and PACs. Jim Haskel, a partner at Bridgewater Associates, a major investment firm based in Connecticut, boosted Haley to the tune of $28,300, filings show.
Finance executives have often played key roles in backing federal candidates in both parties for decades, evidenced by Biden’s 2020 campaign pulling in over $74 million from individuals in the investment and securities industry, according to an analysis by OpenSecrets. Haley in February attended a fundraising event hosted by several Wall Street leaders, including Gautam Chawla, vice chairman at the multinational bank Barclays, CNBC reported.
Brand heads
A handful of brand CEOs and owners have financially backed Haley, including Daniel Lubetzky, a Mexican-American billionaire who founded the snack food company Kind LLC. Lubetzky spread $28,200 combined in March to Haley’s committees, disclosures show.
Jim Davis, the billionaire owner and chairman of New Balance who has donated large sums to support Republicans over the years, including $396,500 in 2016 to Trump Victory, contributed the same amount as Lubetzky to Haley’s committees.
Raymond Gindi and Issac Gindi, co-owners of Century 21 department stores, have given over $46,000 combined to Haley committees between 2021 and March 2023, disclosures show.
South Carolina leaders
There are also several South Carolina-affiliated donors who have supported the ex-UN ambassador. One is David Wilkins, former House Speaker in the Palmetto State’s House who also was the U.S. ambassador to Canada in the George W. Bush administration.
Wilkins, a partner at the law firm Nelson Mullins whom Haley tapped in 2020 to chair her transition team as governor, has given about $19,000 since 2021 to pro-Haley committees, disclosures show.
Brenda Bethune, the mayor of Myrtle Beach City, gave $28,200 to pro-Haley committees in March. Kim Wilkerson, ex-chair of South Carolina’s Chamber of Commerce and current chair of the board of trustees at Clemson University, steered $6,700 from February and March to pro-Haley committees.
“I do endorse Nikki Haley,” Bethune told the Washington Examiner. “I think she is exactly who our nation needs right now. Nikki has executive-level experience as well as a true understanding of foreign policy, which I feel makes her the most qualified candidate.”
Haley’s support from wealthy South Carolina donors could be tested in the months ahead, as Scott lays the groundwork for his own forthcoming campaign. The senator grew up in North Charleston and served as a member of the Charleston County Council from 1995 to 2009. He also was a state legislator and represented South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House from 2011 to 2013 before joining the Senate.
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An adviser close to Scott’s forthcoming bid pointed the Washington Examiner to the fact that he has a roughly $22 million war chest to work with, noting it’s “the most any presidential candidate will start a campaign with.”
Haley’s campaign declined to comment.