Washington, February 5: Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, the only challenger left against former president Donald Trump, has raised a massive USD 16.5 million in January, despite the Indian-American politician coming third and second in the two primaries so far. The USD 16.5 million in January includes USD 11.7 million from grassroots supporters, which added 69,274 new donors. This is Haley's best fundraising month and more than she raised in the first, second, and third quarters of 2023, a campaign release said.

“While Donald Trump blows USD 50 million of his donors' money on his legal cases, Nikki Haley has been focused on talking to voters and saving our country,” said Haley national spokesperson Olivia Perez-Cubas. “Hundreds of thousands of Americans are supporting Nikki's campaign because they don't want two grumpy old men and all their chaos, confusion, and grievances. They want a strong, conservative leader who will save this country,” Perez-Cubas said. US Presidential Elections 2024: Robust Economy, Safety and Security of Citizens, Southern Border Crisis; What Do Indian-American Voters Want

Haley, the 52-year-old former two-term Governor of South Carolina, has refused to quit the race for the 2024 White House. The next major primary is scheduled to be held in her home state of South Carolina later this month. Since the Republican presidential race officially became a one-on-one matchup between her and Trump, the Haley campaign has been inundated with support from low-dollar, grassroots donors all across the country, the statement said.

The large number of new donors is a testament to Haley's staying power and growing support among the vast majority of Americans who don't want a “Biden-Trump rematch,” it said. Axios, which broke the news first, said this massive fund-raising matters because the Haley campaign has the money to keep her long-shot presidential bid alive, even as many leaders in her party have called for the GOP primary to come to an end. GOP Presidential Debate: Next Republican Debate Cancelled After Nikki Haley Refuses To Take Stage Without Donald Trump

Haley raised USD 17.3 million during the fourth quarter, her public FEC filing shows, more than double the USD 8.2 million she raised during the quarter before that, Axios reported. Haley had USD 14 million in cash on hand at the end of 2023. Comparatively, Bernie Sanders had USD 18.1 million in cash on hand during the same period of the 2020 campaign, while President Joe Biden had USD 8.9 million, it said. Haley was born Nimarata Nikki Randhawa in South Carolina to immigrant Sikh parents from Amritsar, Punjab.

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