Haley and DeSantis Super PACs Have Spent Millions Attacking Each Other, But Next to Nothing on Trump

AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell

Super PACs in support of Republican presidential candidates Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis have reportedly spent millions of dollars attacking each other’s candidates, but next to nothing on attacking the Republican primary’s overwhelming frontrunner, former President Donald Trump.

The New York Post reported on Monday that while the pro-Haley Stand For America super PAC had spent more than $3.5 million on anti-DeSantis messaging over the past two months, it had dedicated an astonishing $0 toward attacking Trump. $28 million was reportedly spent on “pro-Haley initiatives,” while $25,000 was spent on ads against President Joe Biden.

The pro-DeSantis Never Back Down super PAC, meanwhile has reportedly spent more than $4.5 million on messaging against Haley and a mere $375,000 on messaging against Trump.

In a statement to the Post, Stand For America spokesperson Brittany Yannick said:

Ron DeSantis’ lies and desperate mudslinging aren’t working; it’s backfiring and costing him support. We won’t allow DeSantis to spread lies about Nikki’s record when it comes to China or terrorism in the Middle East. We’re focused on ensuring voters understand Nikki Haley’s record and DeSantis’ latest attempts to rewrite history amid his sinking ship of a campaign.

The newspaper reported that Yannick did not mention “any strategy to counter Trump.”

According to RealClearPolitics’ Republican primary polling average, Trump is overwhelmingly ahead of both DeSantis and Haley at 61.6%. DeSantis, in second, scored an average of 13.7%, while Haley in third scored an average of just 9.8%.

An Iowa poll conducted by the Des Moines Register and NBC News last month, however, placed Haley and DeSantis in joint second place, at 16% each.

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