Topline

A super PAC aligned with former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has spent millions on ads in Iowa attacking Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over the past two months, but nothing on ads against former President Donald Trump—as his commanding polling lead has turned the GOP primary race into a fight for second place.

Key Facts

What To Watch For

Haley’s campaign announced plans to spend an additional $10 million on TV, radio and digital ads in Iowa and New Hampshire earlier this month. DeSantis’ campaign also plans to spend $2 million in TV ads in Iowa.

What To Watch For

Billionaire Home Depot co-founder Ken Langone, worth $7.2 billion, according to Forbes valuation, is considering financially backing Haley and plans to meet with her in New York next week, CNBC reported. Langone joins a growing list of GOP mega donors, including hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin, who backed away from their previous plans to support DeSantis after his campaign failed to gain traction. Langone told CNBC on Monday he believes Haley is “the only person I see who can give Trump a run for his money,” while criticizing DeSantis’ support for a six-week abortion ban in Florida.

Tangent

DeSantis and his allies have poured significant resources into Iowa, where he earned the endorsement of the state’s Republican governor, Kim Reynolds, this month, along with prominent evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats. He has visited 98 of the 99 counties (he’s scheduled to check off the last one later this week), and the DeSantis-aligned super PAC, Never Back Down, has supported an extensive door knocking campaign in the state.

SUrprising Fact

DeSantis’ allies launched a new super PAC, Far Right Inc., last week and is waging a last-ditch TV ad campaign to attack his allies before the primaries kick off Jan. 15 in Iowa. Far Right’s inception comes as Never Back Down has reportedly clashed with DeSantis’ campaign and its chief executive resigned in recent weeks.

Big Number

10%. That’s Haley’s average support in GOP primary polls, according to FiveThirtyEight. Trump leads with 60%, followed by DeSantis with 12%. Haley’s support has grown from 6% two months ago, while DeSantis has lost a point.

KEy Background

The GOP primary race has become somewhat of a side-show as Trump has maintained a significant polling lead that would defy historical precedent if he were to lose the nomination. Trump sat out the first three GOP primary debates and plans to skip the rest. Meanwhile, his competitors have been winnowed to four candidates who meet the donation and polling threshold to qualify for debates: Haley, DeSantis, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. Trump has coined unflattering nicknames for both Haley (“bird brain”) and DeSantis (“DeSanctimonious”) and has accused both of them of disloyalty to him. While Haley seldom mentions Trump, DeSantis has ramped up his attacks on his former ally in recent months, suggesting he is too old to serve as president and blaming him for GOP election losses.

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