Never-Trumpers hoped that South Carolina had the potential to serve as a key obstacle to preventing the former president from securing his third Republican presidential nomination. However, it should be noted that to date, none of the competing campaigns or their affiliated superPACs have allocated substantial financial resources to directly criticize him in their advertising efforts.
Currently, there is a lack of a prominent anti-Trump super PAC or substantial donor support aimed at pushing him away from his position as party leader. Consequently, there is apprehension about the wisdom of expending financial or political resources to undermine Trump, as it may turn out to be an unproductive endeavor.
Indeed, the two prominent outside political entities that have been running ads encouraging voters to turn away from Trump have so far failed to deliver on the extensive anti-Trump spending campaign that several party insiders had planned.
Five months from the primary election, opposition to Trump shows fragmentation and diminished strength, as none of the Republican contenders can match the former president’s popularity in the polls, not even his legal challenges.
Also, this problem is not just limited to South Carolina. Nationally, the potential faction of the Republican Party opposing President Trump has not emerged, and GOP political analysts suggest it may be too late for such a development.
Even in the cases where a conservative faction tries to criticize Trump, their efforts tend to have only a superficial impact, focused mostly on apprehensions about his ability to outperform President Joe Biden. In fact, throughout the summer, one voter initiated a particular position within one of these groups that expressed, “I love Donald Trump.”
“Where were all these people talking about a great game [about stopping Trump] when was it time to put rubber on the road? An exasperated adviser to a presidential campaign unaffiliated with Donald Trump expressed his displeasure. “The least they could have done was make sure he was so damaged that he wasn’t sitting at 50% in the polls. But because they sat on their hands, they’ve essentially ceded the nomination to him, and it’s by inaction.”
Already this year, two prominent conservative organizations, namely Americans for Prosperity Action and the Club for Growth, expressed their determination to oppose Trump’s re-emergence as a leading figure within the party.
The Club for Growth held a donor retreat in Florida in February to drum up support for a Republican ticket that doesn’t include Donald Trump. A total of five Republican presidential candidates were present at the event, including businessmen Vivek Ramaswamy and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
Vivek Ramaswamy
According to data provided by ad tracking firm AdImpact, the organization has only spent a total of $6 million so far.
The advertising campaign has effectively stopped. According to AdImpact, in August, political action committee Win It Back, which is affiliated with the Club for Growth, spent a total of $2.5 million running anti-Trump ads specifically targeting the state of Iowa. However, in September, ad spend has only amounted to $5,000.
According to Lucy Caldwell, a political strategist who took on the role of campaign manager for Republican candidate Joe Walsh during the 2020 primary campaign against Trump, “It’s a completely insignificant amount of money. The anti-Trumpers, by and large, don’t even they’re just committing to the Republican primary this year,” he cried.
In February, the philanthropic network established by wealthy brothers Charles and David Koch, known for their conservative leanings, announced their intention to actively participate in the upcoming Republican presidential primaries in 2024. Their goal is to initiate a transformative change in the landscape political, with the aim of ushering in a new era for the nation.
According to a memorandum written by Emily Seidel, senior adviser to Americans for Prosperity, “The best thing for the country would be to have a president in 2025 who represents a new chapter. The American people have shown that they are ready to move on and, to so AFP will help them do that.”
According to Bill Riggs, a representative of AFP Action, the organization has allocated a substantial amount of $11 million to advertising expenses, including reserves for future placements. These ads are intended to convey to the Republican audience that selecting a candidate other than Trump would be the most effective strategy to defeat Biden.
According to a Republican operative affiliated with a primary campaign competing with Trump’s, “If you’re looking for the AFP to be the tipping point, they’re not.”
A representative of the organization expressed opposition to the idea that it is not dedicated to promoting a conservative alternative to Trump. Instead, they argued that emphasizing Republican apprehensions about Trump’s ability to defeat Biden constitutes the most impactful message strategy. The organization recently released a new ad that characterizes the tumultuous events surrounding President Trump as mentally and physically draining.
“We continue to find that Trump’s support is soft — he’s the weakest candidate against Joe Biden, and a significant number of his supporters are open to an alternative. Those are the voters we’re focused on persuading,” according to Riggs. “For them, Trump’s baggage and electability are the issues they care about the most, and they should be. Joe Biden’s approval rating is about the lowest it can be, and Trump is still losing states key to the battlefield.”
The organization also reports engaging with 4.3 million potential primary voters this year through door-to-door outreach in strategically important states.
However, several Republican fundraisers in various regions have also expressed doubts about the existence of a residual opportunity, given the consolidation of Trump’s position in the polls during the summer months.
Source: NBC news
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