Republican presidential contenders spent over $167 million in losing efforts to defeat former President Donald Trump in New Hampshire and Iowa, with plans to spend millions more in future primaries.
The massive amount of money spent in the first two primaries of the 2024 cycle shows how strong former President Donald Trump’s grassroots support is around the nation. Trump spent just $34.1 million in both states.
The large sum of money also reveals the number of resources the Republican Party did not spend on defeating President Joe Biden.
“Campaign officials are concerned that if Haley does not drop out after New Hampshire, it would force them to spend resources against her in South Carolina for the next three weeks instead of turning to states where Trump is politically vulnerable,” according to CNN.
Below are the campaigns and outside group ad spending for Republican primary candidates in New Hampshire, CNN calculated:
- Pro-Haley: $31 million
- Pro-Trump: $15.8 million
- Other: $31 million
In Iowa, Haley spent two million more than Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) — the most out of any candidate. Both amounted to more than half the total $123 million in ads between the Republican candidates since Monday, CNN reported:
- Pro-Haley: $37 million
- Pro-DeSantis: $35 million
- Pro-Trump: $18.3 million
- All others: $33.2 million
Moving forward to Nevada and South Carolina, Republican campaigns and PACs spent more than $123 million, CNN reported:
In Nevada, none of the campaigns or outside groups are on the air. Haley’s campaign is not competing in the state’s party-run caucuses on February 8, opting instead for the state-run primary on February 6. But only the caucuses will be used to determine the allocation of delegates to this summer’s Republican convention.
And in South Carolina, the next major contest on February 24, just one group is actively spending: Americans for Prosperity Action, the super PAC arm of the Koch family’s political network, which is backing Haley.
Trump leads by no less than 30 points in every state after the New Hampshire primary.
Wendell Husebo is a political reporter with Breitbart News and a former GOP War Room Analyst. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality. Follow Wendell on “X” @WendellHusebø or on Truth Social @WendellHusebo.