The super PAC backing former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign has made its first ad buys in Iowa and New Hampshire, airing a spot focused on her foreign relations experience and battling China.
The ad start airing Tuesday in the first two GOP states to hold nominating contests. According to the Haley-aligned Stand For America Fund, the super PAC will spend $6.1 million to run the ad in New Hampshire for nine weeks on broadcast, cable and digital platforms. The group is also planning to spend $7 million in Iowa, which was first reported by the Des Moines Register.
The 30-second spot highlights Haley’s stance on China, which she often cites on the campaign trail as America’s biggest adversary.
The narrator in the ad states, “Nikki Haley fought America’s enemies at the U.N. and won.”
The commercial also features clips of Haley on the campaign trail. At one point she says, “Like the Soviet Union before it, communist China will end up on the ash heap of history,” echoing a famous line from a 1982 Ronald Reagan speech.
Haley’s criticism of China is a common refrain in her stump speech. She often states China is the “biggest national security threat” the U.S. faces and that China has been “preparing for war” with America for years.
SFA Fund pulled in $18.7 million from donors by the end of June, according to the group’s campaign finance filing.
On the campaign trail, Haley, a former accountant, indicated she was waiting to spend money until she felt the timing was correct.
At a voter town hall last week in Iowa City, Haley said, “we wanted to make sure we had financial strength. Now all the other candidates have spent millions of dollars. We haven’t spent anything because no one was paying attention.”
A handful of other 2024 super PACs have been spending big money on TV already. MAGA Inc., supporting former President Donald Trump, has spent $19.9 million, per AdImpact, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Never Back Down has spent $15.4 million. Trust in the Mission PAC, supporting South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, has spent $4 million so far.
