Nikki Haley ‘surging’ in Iowa, raises $1 million after Republican debate
Trump pollster says Vivek Ramaswamy seen as winner of last week’s first Republican presidential debate
In what her campaign calls a sign of “real momentum” Indian American presidential hopeful Nikki Haley has raised over $1 million and “surged” in polls in Iowa after the first Republican presidential debate, according to media reports
A prominent pollster told Republican donors that Haley, the first Indian American to serve in a presidential cabinet as US ambassador to UN under former President Donald Trump, “has surged” in polls in Iowa, Axios reported Tuesday.
Tony Fabrizio, who was the lead pollster for Trump’s last two campaigns for president, also said in a memo that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, polling a distant second behind Trump, had “flatlined.”
READ: Four Indian Americans are running for president. Could anyone have imagined two decades ago? (August 30, 2023)
“DeSantis has flatlined, Haley has surged, and [Vivek] Ramaswamy is seen as last week’s debate winner,” the memo read, according to Axios.
Fabrizio added that Haley and Ramaswamy are “essentially tied” with DeSantis in New Hampshire, as well. The memo was reportedly sent to “fundraisers and allies of former President Trump.”
However, the memo also reportedly noted DeSantis, Haley and Ramaswamy are still “far behind” the former president in both early voting states.
According to FiveThirtyEight, Trump leads DeSantis, the next-highest average polling candidate in the Republican primary race, by an average of 34.4 percent in national polls.
Meanwhile, Haley’s campaign said Monday she has raised more than $1 million in less than 72 hours after the August 22 primary debate, calling it a sign of “real momentum” to her race.
“Nikki Haley’s post-debate momentum is real and growing,” her campaign said after Haley addressed a large rally of her supporters in South Carolina on Monday.
“And this afternoon, South Carolinians came out in droves to Haley’s town hall in Indian Land, SC. The crowd was so big, Haley stopped by not one, not two, but three overflow rooms to greet voters,” it said.
Addressing the gathering, Haley said the partnership between China and Russia is “an axis of evil.” China, she said, has been planning war with America for years, and that’s not being dramatic.
“China’s never wanted to be like us. They want to be communist, and we have to change the way we deal with them,” Haley said.
“I think in the first 72 hours, we raised a million dollars. We’ve had thousands of people volunteer. We’ve had a lot of people join the campaign. The phones are still ringing,” Haley told Fox News Digital in an interview.
