(RepublicanPress.org) – FiveThirtyEight recently reported that an average of national polls has former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley trailing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for the Republican presidential primary by less than six points. A major pro-DeSantis group appears to be working to widen that gap. Pro-DeSantis super PAC Never Back Down recently released its second ad attacking Haley.
On October 22, the committee released a 30-second advertisement claiming the former SC governor “rolled out the red carpet” for a Chinese company during her time as state leader. The ad said Haley gave a tech company from China 200 acres of land for free in the Palmetto State — just five miles away from Fort Jackson. The super PAC also claimed Haley gave Chinese companies “millions in tax breaks.”
The main outside group backing Florida Governor DeSantis' presidential run is airing a TV ad that targets former Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley for bringing Chinese businesses into South Carolina when she was governor. https://t.co/n89mZDy6mn
— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 22, 2023
The ad included audio from the former SC governor herself, stating the Asian nation was “really in good faith doing quite a bit,” calling China a “great friend.” However, that clip was from a 2017 interview of her talking about the country sanctioning North Korea. The group reportedly ran the ad on Fox, CNN, and Newsmax in both Iowa and New Hampshire. Average polling from FiveThirtyEight has Haley behind DeSantis by 8.2 points in Iowa, but ahead of him by over 3 points in New Hampshire.
CBS News reported that a spokesperson for Haley called the ad a bunch of “lies and hypocrisy” from the DeSantis campaign. The spokesperson touted Haley’s record of taking on “the Chinese at the UN” when she was the US ambassador and would do it again as president. They also claimed DeSantis was the one who recruited Chinese companies to do business in Florida.
The presidential candidates are also fighting over the current war and whether they would accept Gaza refugees into the US. The DeSantis camp claims Haley said she would accept them, while the former SC governor denies ever saying such a thing. Her campaign recently released an ad about the subject. Only time will tell whether either side’s ads will bear any political fruit.
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