The CEO of the Koch funded organization, Americans for Prosperity (AFP), announced it will support a candidate in the 2024 Republican presidential primary that represents a new chapter. Multiple outlets are reporting that announcement signals a plan to oppose Donald Trump.
“The Republican Party is nominating bad candidates who are advocating for things that go against core American principles. And the American people are rejecting them,” AFP CEO Emily Seidel wrote in a memo to staff and activists.
“The American people have shown that they’re ready to move on, and so AFP will help them do that,” the memo stated.
The memo did not explicitly endorse or oppose any candidates or policies, but it said Republicans are nominating bad candidates. Democrats are responding to that by proposing more extreme policies and both parties are reinforcing each other’s bad behavior and putting the entire country on a downward spiral.
“But AFP Action is prepared to support a candidate in the Republican presidential primary who can lead our country forward, and who can win,” the memo said.
AFP and its super PAC spent a combined $91 million in the 2022 election cycle. The group has millions of activists in all 50 states, and brick and mortar offices in 36 states.
Another conservative organization, Club for Growth, is also looking for alternatives to Trump.
So far, only former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has jumped in the race to challenge Trump. Haley served in the Trump administration as U.N. ambassador. Other potential candidates include former Vice President Mike Pence, Sen. Tim Scott, S.C., and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
