'I’ll vote for Biden': Top Koch group official rebels against Nikki Haley endorsement

02 December 2023

Not all of Americans for Prosperity's (AFP) staff is on board with the group's endorsement of former UN ambassador Nikki Haley in the 2024 Republican presidential primary.

Chris Maidment, who has been AFP's director of grassroots operations in New Hampshire since March of this year according to his LinkedIn profile, blasted the Koch-funded group's announcement that it would be backing Haley in a recent thread on X (formerly Twitter). Maidment indicated he may lose his job over his post, but held fast in his position that the group had lost its "principles" and that he would not be casting his ballot for the former South Carolina governor due to her foreign policy positions.

"I will never vote for Nikki Haley. Not once. My children deserve better than to be drafted in some war overseas," Maidment tweeted. "If it comes down to it, I'll vote for [President Joe] Biden over Haley 10 times out of 10, because he's less of a threat to our country."

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"In tweeting this I give up friends, family, and a job. I give up a lot. But for the right reasons," he wrote, clarifying that he still respects his colleagues who choose to vote for Haley. "I need the insurance. I need the pay. I need the benefits. But, more than that, I need to instill in the next generation that we do the right thing, always, despite the pay, benefits, and add-ons."

The endorsement from AFP is a critical boost for Haley's campaign — particularly in New Hampshire, where she has seen her poll numbers surge past all of her non-Trump rivals. According to RealClearPolitics' polling data, Haley was registering 18.7% support among likely Republican primary voters in the Granite State as of November 17, with former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie coming in third with roughly 11% support and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis lagging behind in fourth place with 7.7% support.

In announcing its endorsement of Haley, AFP pledged to lend "the full weight and scope of AFP Action’s unmatched grassroots army and resources to help her earn the support of Americans to become the next President of the United States of America." As director of grassroots operations in a state where Haley is performing her best, Maidment likely would be the group's main facilitator of get-out-the-vote operations for the former UN ambassador in New Hampshire.

Despite Haley's recent polling boost, she still lags far behind former President Donald Trump, who is leading by nearly 30 points in both early state polls and national polls. The Iowa Caucuses take place on January 15, and the New Hampshire primary is slated for January 23.

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