Presidential candidate Nikki Haley coming to Connecticut to speak at Republican fundraiser

With one year to go before the Iowa caucuses, Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley is coming to Connecticut to speak to Republicans.

Haley will be the headliner at the 44th annual Prescott Bush Awards dinner on May 31 at a Stamford hotel in the party’s biggest annual fundraiser.

The news comes after Haley’s recent announcement of her presidential campaign and heading to Iowa. Haley is the former United States ambassador to the United Nations under President Donald J. Trump and the former governor of South Carolina.

Asked how the party was able to attract a presidential candidate with a busy schedule, state Republican chairman Ben Proto said, “We asked. That’s how you get most things. ... We went sometime in January to my friends who are involved in her campaign. They got me in touch with her staff, and they gave us some dates that she was available. We checked with the hotel where we normally do it [in Stamford]. Everybody wants us to bring it to Hartford, but the speakers want to be down in that area because it makes it accessible to them for New York.’'

Haley marks the return of a national figure for the dinner that has attracted former presidential candidates like John McCain, Bob Dole, Jeb Bush, and Mitt Romney. In recent years, attendance figures have dipped as some Republicans said that they were not particularly inspired by the keynote speaker or the award winners.

The most recent appearance by U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, the junior senator from Iowa, attracted about 375 donors, which was small when compared to the more than 800 who heard presidential adviser Karl Rove in 2002 and about 1,000 people in 2000 for U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona. Traditionally, Republicans looked forward to red-meat speeches by national firebrands like Jack Kemp and the late Lee Atwater, who was widely credited with helping George H.W. Bush get elected as president in 1988.

The general admission tickets are $300 per person, while couples will receive a discount at $500 for two tickets. Those attending the VIP reception and having their picture taken with Haley will pay $1,500 each for the private reception, according to a copy of the invitation.

The highest price listed on the invitation is $10,000 for the “CT GOP platinum member sponsorship’' that includes a table for 10, plus two tickets for an “exclusive pre-event roundtable with keynote speaker,’' four tickets to the VIP reception, and other benefits.

Christopher Keating can be reached at ckeating@courant.com