Nikki Haley battles Trump in House primary turf war

As former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley crisscrosses the country ahead of an anticipated 2024 presidential bid, she is also fixated on defending her home turf — from an incursion led by her onetime boss, former President Donald Trump.

Haley is putting her political muscle behind South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace, a freshman congresswoman who blamed Trump for the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot — and who is now facing a Trump-endorsed opponent, Katie Arrington, in next week’s Republican primary. Haley, a former South Carolina governor, has appeared in Mace’s TV ads, headlined a fundraiser that raised six figures, and is expected to close out the race by holding several events with the congresswoman.

The former governor’s top lieutenants are also pitching in, with a top strategist, Betsy Ankney, in regular contact with the congresswoman’s team. Jon Lerner, Haley’s longtime pollster, recently conducted a survey for a pro-Mace outside group.

Haley’s intervention in the primary represents a political bet: By throwing her political might behind Mace — a candidate derided by Trump as “nasty, disloyal, and bad for the Republican Party” — and risking a defeat in her home state, Haley is taking steps to distinguish herself from a former president whom she served and who, like her, is weighing a 2024 bid.

Those in Trump’s orbit concede it’s likely Haley will end up with the win, with public polling showing Mace ahead. While Haley is barnstorming the Charleston-area district for her candidate during the final days of the contest in a sign of confidence, Trump has opted against making an 11th-hour trip for Arrington.

“Nikki doesn’t mind picking a fight. She never has,” said Katon Dawson, a former South Carolina Republican Party chairman. “She calculates fights, and I think Nikki wanted to make sure Nancy got reelected, and I think there’s a good chance that’s going to happen.”

People familiar with the race say Haley’s opposition to Trump in the primary is more circumstantial than intentional. Haley also backed Mace’s 2020 campaign, and the congresswoman represents the former governor’s home district. They also note that Haley has endorsed the same candidates as Trump in a host of other races, and they insist they were unaware Trump was planning to get behind Arrington. Haley endorsed Mace the day before Arrington entered the race, and two days before Trump endorsed Arrington.

But Haley’s assistance to Mace has been particularly extensive. The former ambassador narrated an entire commercial for Mace, in which she describes the congresswoman as “tough as nails.” In March, Haley held a Charleston fundraiser for the candidate that netted more than $300,000. Haley is also expected to aid get-out-the-vote efforts, and her team has been helping raise small-dollar donations.

Some of Haley’s biggest donors have gravitated toward the congresswoman, and a POLITICO review of federal campaign finance records shows at least 335 donors to Mace’s campaign who have previously given to Haley’s PAC. Those contributors include New York hedge fund manager Paul Singer, Chicago investor Ken Griffin and Dallas real estate developer Harlan Crow — and their support has helped Mace raise more than five times as much as Arrington.

“Nikki has certainly delivered on her promise to help Nancy in a way you don’t always see politicians endorse other candidates,” said Rob Godfrey, a former top Haley adviser.

The Trump team’s involvement in the race began early last year, after Mace said Trump’s “legacy was wiped out” by the Capitol siege. (Mace, however, voted against impeaching Trump and earlier this year recorded a video in front of Trump Tower where she lavished praise on him.)

Eric Bolling, an ex-Fox News personality and Trump ally, began talking with people in Trump’s sphere about launching a primary challenge to Mace, though he ultimately decided against it. The former president’s lieutenants also mentioned the possibility of former Lt. Gov. André Bauer as a candidate, but he ended up not jumping in either.

The Trump team ultimately settled on Arrington, who ousted Trump-critical former Rep. Mark Sanford in a 2018 primary before losing the general election to a Democrat. Trump gave Arrington an endorsement on the same day as the primary that year, helping propel her over Sanford.

This year, Trump has cut a video in which he appeals for donors to support Arrington, invited her onstage during a March visit to the state and held a Tuesday evening tele-rally for the candidate. His political operation has helped to bankroll anti-Mace TV ads that a super PAC, Our American Century, has been running, according to a person familiar with the move.

But Trump has refrained from visiting Mace’s district for fear his candidate may lose, those familiar with the deliberations say.

Trump advisers are more confident in their prospects of ousting Rep. Tom Rice, another South Carolina Republican who, unlike Mace, voted to impeach the ex-president. (Haley is not involved in the Rice primary.) While Mace has the benefit of running in an increasingly urban and upscale district that is trending more moderate, Rice has the burden of competing in the more conservative northeastern corner of the state. While Trump won Mace’s district by only 6 points in the 2020 election, he won Rice’s by 18 points.

“It’s a race that Nancy will win,” said Sanford, who preceded Haley as governor. “Although Trump still has a very strong hold in rural America, and decidedly Republican areas,” Mace’s district “is not that.”

Haley’s involvement in the primary adds another wrinkle to her already-complicated relationship with the ex-president. Despite endorsing Florida Sen. Marco Rubio during the 2016 GOP nominating contest, Trump later selected her to be U.N. ambassador. She left the administration after just two years, a move that rankled some Trump advisers who were convinced she was bolting with an eye toward positioning herself for a future presidential bid.

After lambasting Trump following the Capitol riot, she has since softened her posture toward the former president. She has said she will not run in 2024 if Trump does.

Still, some of those in Trump’s inner circle do not regard Haley as an ally. She reached out to Trump to request a meeting with him at his Mar-a-Lago estate in South Florida shortly after Jan. 6, but she was turned down. The two have met since.

Sanford said he saw Haley’s engagement in Mace’s primary as a “well-calculated political decision, with in essence no downside.”

“When you’re no longer in the Trump fold, you’re out of the Trump fold,” said Sanford. “She’s outside the fold, so there’s no downside in being on the opposite side from him in something.”

The race also represents a political opportunity for the former governor. Should Mace win, she would be indebted to Haley, giving the former ambassador a congressional ally in an all-important early primary state.

“Nancy Mace is a Republican who can be a big help down the road for Nikki in an early primary state,” said Godfrey, “should there be anything the former governor wants to do in the future.”