Former supporters of Amb. Nikki Haley now supporting Vice President Kamala Harris say they will not ‘cease and desist’ after the group says it received a letter on behalf of Haley.
The group’s campaign, it says, stemmed from a PAC supporting Haley over former president Donald Trump. After Haley’s primary loss, it threw its weight into supporting President Joe Biden, and now Harris with the Democratic ticket change.
Haley received nearly 20 percent support during the Republican primaries, though she has now endorsed Trump.
“PivotPAC has made good faith efforts to demonstrate respect for Ambassador Haley and all of her supporters, no matter what decisions they make about who to vote for in November. PivotPAC has clearly stated that we believed — and continue to believe — Ambassador Haley was best for the country over former President Trump. We now believe that Vice President Harris is better for the country,” it says in its press statement in response.
“The suggestion that PivotPAC may be engaged in intentional misrepresentations to the public is frivolous and defamatory,” it states, adding, “We shall not cease and desist and our First Amendment speech will not be silenced because our activities under the “Haley Voters for Harris” campaign are fully compliant with the law.”
The group says in the wake of the letter it’s received small dollar donations, with messages encouraging the group to call themselves ‘Haley Voters For Harris.’
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As they focus on those who supported Haley in the primaries, the group is looking to test what may be the most persuasive messaging among center right voters in the wake of the Democratic ticket change and eventually roll out a “substantial” communications campaign.
“We think that there's a group of voters who have made a very powerful statement, message sent to the Republican Party that they don't support Donald Trump, don't believe he should be the symbol or the standard bearer of the party. They're not all prepared at this point to vote for the Vice President. It's our job to give them information and hopefully persuade as many of them as we can,” said Craig Snyder, the director of Haley Voters For Harris.
The group plans to test its messaging with panels of center right, undecided voters in swing states.
“I think we're going to know exactly who our targets are, exactly what our messages are, and begin to roll it out in a substantial way,” Snyder said.
Snyder said they expect the Trump campaign to portray Harris as radical, but Snyder points to Harris’ career as a prosecutor.
“This is somebody who spent most of her life as a tough on crime, career prosecutor. In fact, her biggest problem in the 2020 presidential cycle was from the left, with people who are, in fact, you know, on the left, thinking that that Harris was was much too conservative, particularly on law and order issues,” Snyder said. “So what we believe is that when our our voters center right voters who really don't know the vice president that well, despite her having been in public life a long time, when they learn her record number one and number two, when they learn that she is the subject of attacks from the left, that they're going to see her in a different light and be willing to give her serious consideration.”
Snyder said research showed the approach “produced substantial impact” in regards to Biden. “So now the question is translating that to the Vice President,” he said.
Since the ticket change, the group, like the Harris campaign, has touted enthusiasm.
The campaign, under the then Biden-Harris campaign, had already brought on a former GOP lawmaker’s chief of staff to lead its Republican outreach.
"Our democracy is at its best when Americans speak up and participate in the election process. That’s exactly what millions of Republicans did this year as they rejected Donald Trump’s extremism during the primaries, and as they continue to speak out about his unfitness for office. Those voters have a home in the Harris campaign’s coalition,” said Austin Weatherford, the campaign’s national Republican engagement director. “While the MAGA movement continues to push away voters who care about the future of our democracy, standing strong with our allies against foreign adversaries, and working across the aisle to get things done for the American people, the Harris campaign will keep working hard to earn their support.”
Meanwhile, Haley defended her choice to back Trump during an interview with CNN Thursday, noting her supporters wanted a choice.
“That was what we fought for, that was what we did, and millions joined us,” Haley told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “I wanted what they wanted. We were in it together, and I loved the fight we had together. But we’ve been given a choice. It’s Trump, or it’s Harris. And so, what I did, was I said this is who I would be voting for. I also said I don’t agree with Trump 100% of time, and I don’t expect them to agree with Trump 100% of the time to vote for him. But I wanted them to think about it through my eyes and how I thought about it.”
A recent Morning Consult poll showed 5% of Republicans supported Harris and found 40% of independents supported Harris, while 38% supported Trump.
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