Haley looks to secure staying power as an ascendant Trump rival

By Daniel Strauss and Steve Contorno, CNN

(CNN) — Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s ascendancy in the GOP presidential race has brought new financial support, but also newfound attention from her rivals trying to topple former President Donald Trump.

But in the face of increased scrutiny, Haley’s allies increasingly are thinking about the long game. She needs to exceed expectations in debates and in the first few primary contests next year, they say, as she attempts to outlasts other candidates. Chief among those rivals? Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who had initially been seen as the main alternative to Trump, before Haley started to rise in the polls and secured the endorsement last week of the influential conservative network, Americans for Prosperity Action.

“He’s said repeatedly he has to win in Iowa. So he’s got a lot of ground to cover and, for us, I think the mission’s just to grow our vote share,” said Mark Harris, a top strategist for a pro-Haley super PAC. “You can expect to see more efforts by us to continue to amplify the campaign’s positive message as well as educate voters about where Ron is.”

That was on display during Wednesday night’s debate as Haley sought to do no harm and show she could hold her own.

“I love all the attention, fellas. Thank you for that,” Haley said at one point with a smile on her face.

Haley’s team was happy with her debate performance, according to two Republican sources with knowledge of their thinking, even if she didn’t have a clear breakout moment like in past debates. She doesn’t need to win a shouting match, these Republicans said. One of those sources explained that Haley and her team “want the section of primary voters who want ‘normal’ to see she was being presidential.”

“The voters who love the shouting … aren’t really up for grabs” for Haley, that Republican added.

But while Haley has openly embraced support that extends beyond the Trump-aligned wing of the Republican Party – resources that are likely critical to have a shot at leapfrogging Trump – Republicans are wondering whether that support will hurt her in the long run.

That was a key line of attack from DeSantis on stage Wednesday night.

“I admit that she’s had a rise, and good for her, but it’s not amongst conservatives,” said Dallas businessman Roy Bailey, a major DeSantis fundraiser. “And conservatives win primaries in the Republican Party and not Romney moderates. She needed to be outed on that.”

Her donors “may be able to put some fuel in her tank, but they can’t win her votes,” Bailey added.

During the debate, Haley doubled down on accepting donations from any donor, even Democrats. Top Democratic donor Reid Hoffman said this week he has donated to a super PAC supporting Haley. The former South Carolina governor stressed that that wouldn’t compromise her conservative bonafides. But one seasoned Republican strategist warned that comments like that would hurt Haley in the long run and weigh her down among the non-Trump candidates.

“Haley’s comments last night that she would take money from anyone is going to cost her,” the strategist said. “She is actively pushing for non-Republicans to vote in Republican caucuses and primaries and that isn’t going to fly.” The strategist was arguing that Haley is overly eager to get support from New Hampshire undeclared voters who can vote in the Republican primary.

DeSantis has responded to Haley’s prominence by trying to underscore his own conservative credentials.

The day after the debate, during an appearance on Fox News, he eagerly pivoted from a question about his differing positions with former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie over committing troops to the war in Gaza to his record on gender transition surgery, as he sought to draw a contrast between him, and Haley and Christie.

“I did a bill in Florida to stop the gender mutilation of minors,” the Florida governor said, repeating claims – regarded as false by most major medical associations – that gender affirming care is mutilation. Gender affirming care, a multidisciplinary approach to help a person transition away from the gender they were assigned at birth, is a recommended practice by most major medical associations.

Some Republicans are casting Haley as a moderate, said Republican strategist Gail Gitcho, even though she herself aligns more with conservatives. Going forward, Haley will have to allay the perception that she cannot appeal to the primary voters and donors she needs to win the nomination.

Gitcho pointed to some readouts of the debate that framed Haley as having a subpar performance.

“It’s just very relative to the previous debates. I thought Gov. Haley was on her heels a little bit but the men were coming for her and they were not going to stop and what spoke volumes to me is how much everyone underestimated her from Day 1,” Gitcho, a veteran of multiple past presidential campaigns, said during an interview on Thursday.

“And she even wore a shirt [on the campaign trail] that said ‘underestimate me, that will be fun.’ Well, it’s been playing itself out over the past several weeks over the course of these debates. If she wasn’t prepared last night, it was minor. She was on her heels a little bit, but she’s not going to let that happen again.”

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