Nikki Haley hired a heavy-hitter political operative to run her new political action committee, another signal the former ambassador is eyeing a potential 2024 presidential bid.
Betsy Ankney, political director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee during the 2020 election cycle, was tapped for the post of executive director at Stand For America PAC, where she will lead Haley’s efforts to help the GOP win back majorities in the House and Senate in 2022. Bringing on a strategist with Ankney’s expertise and campaign know-how suggests Haley has bigger plans for her PAC over the next two years than simply cutting checks to endorsed candidates.
“We are focused on winning back the House and Senate in 2022,” Haley said in a statement provided to the Washington Examiner. “Betsy is strong, experienced, and is as determined as I am to recruit new voices, support strong conservatives, and grow our party. I’m excited to have her leading our team.”
Prior to her gig at the NRSC, Ankney, an Ohio native, served as the campaign manager for two Republican incumbents running in highly competitive races: in 2018, for then-Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner; and in 2016, for Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson.
Haley, 49, is the former United States ambassador to the United Nations under former President Donald Trump. Before going to the U.N., Haley was governor of South Carolina for six years.
Haley campaigned aggressively for Republican congressional candidates in 2019 and 2020 but is moving to carve out a larger role as a key Republican power player. Through her preexisting political nonprofit group, Stand For America Now, Haley was already working to help the party counter President Biden’s agenda. Now, through that group’s sister organization, Stand For America PAC, Haley is moving to assist GOP efforts to reclaim power on Capitol Hill.
“Nikki Haley and the great team at Stand for America PAC are focused on helping elect strong conservatives up and down the ticket, and I am excited to join them in this effort,” Ankney said in a statement. “It’s more important than ever that we have solutions-oriented conservative leadership to help grow our party and counter the disastrous effects of total Democrat control.”
This story was first reported by Axios.
