Republicans Waste $167M in Losing Effort to Defeat Trump in New Hampshire, Iowa
by Wendell Husebø
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