Breaking News

Hamas leader tried to take out Israeli drone moments before he was killed
Politics

Nikki Haley super PAC money dries up with only $3M left as actual campaign reports $14M cash on hand

By
Diana Glebova
Published Feb. 1, 2024, 12:24 p.m. ET

Nikki Haley’s super PAC well is drying up.

Federal Election Commission filings show SFA Fund Inc., the major organization backing the former South Carolina governor’s White House bid, had just over $3 million left in cash going into 2024, well down from the $14 million it had back in July.

The decline is not a good sign for the super PAC, which recorded spending around $300,000 on Haley merchandise like shirts and stickers and hundreds of thousands on “postage.”

The primary SFA expenditures include advertising, media placement and “filing fees” to get on state primary ballots.

“We’ve spent a million [dollars] this week in South Carolina to support Nikki’s efforts and have plans to spend millions more next week,” a SFA rep told The Post Thursday. “This is all thanks to our strong, robust fundraising that we’ve seen since January.”

Meanwhile, Haley’s actual campaign started the election year with $14 million in cash on hand, per FEC filings, up from the $11 million it recorded following the third quarter of 2023.

Nikki Haley speaks during a campaign event, ahead of the South Carolina Republican presidential primary election, in Conway, South Carolina, U.S., January 28, 2024.
Nikki Haley speaks during a campaign event, ahead of the South Carolina Republican presidential primary election, in Conway, South Carolina, January 28, 2024. REUTERS

The campaign raised $2.6 million in 48 hours after finishing second behind rival Donald Trump in the Jan. 23 New Hampshire primary, and has leveraged his threats to blacklist her donors as a marketing tactic, netting an additional $150,000 from the sale of T-shirts that read, “Barred. Permanently.”

Haley is set to hold 10 fundraisers in the coming weeks across the country to boost her campaign’s coffers before the Feb. 24 South Carolina primary.

“As long as she’s able to continue fundraising, then she’s going to be able to keep her message out there and put it out in front of more people,” Palmetto State GOP strategist Dave Wilson told The Post.

“But if the money starts to dwindle, if it’s not keeping pace with the demand of the campaign, it’s really going to call the candidacy into question.”

A supporter of Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, attends a campaign event ahead of the South Carolina Republican presidential primary election, in Mauldin, South Carolina, U.S. January 27, 2024.
A supporter of Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley attends a campaign event ahead of the South Carolina Republican presidential primary election, in Mauldin, South Carolina, January 27, 2024. REUTERS

Meanwhile, Trump’s campaign enters 2024 with $33 million cash on hand.

The main pro-Trump super PAC, MAGA Inc., reported $23 million on hand, down from the $54 million it had in July.

The 77-year-old’s campaign has been plagued by legal fees, on which assorted pro-Trump committees spent approximately $27 million in the last six months of last year.

“Trump is spending buckets of money on his legal chaos, which will only grow more expensive in the coming months,” the Haley campaign said. “Trump spent a stunning $50 million on legal fees in 2023 and $29 million in the last six months with plenty of shenanigans afoot. In an unusual move, he appears to have moved $30 million from his super PAC, MAGA Inc., to his Leadership PAC, Save America, so he can pay for his legal bills.”