The conservative donor network founded by billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch says it is wading into the 2024 Republican presidential primaries in an effort to «turn the page» and «write a new chapter for our country.»
in a memorandum Published Sunday, Americans for Prosperity said it will endorse more candidates in light of the GOP’s disappointing performance in the 2022 midterm elections.
“The Republican Party is nominating bad candidates who advocate things that go against fundamental American principles. And the American people are rejecting them,» wrote the group’s executive director, Emily Seidel.
Seidel said Americans for Prosperity seeks to support a candidate in the 2024 Republican Party presidential primary «who can move our country forward and who can win.»
“So the best thing for the country would be to have a president in 2025 who represents a new chapter,” Seidel wrote. «The American people have shown that they are ready to move on, so AFP will help them do it.»
The AFP memo does not directly mention former President Donald Trump, but it comes months after disappointing performances by Trump-backed candidates in the 2022 midterm elections cost Republicans seats in key battles in swing states.
The AFP’s decision to get involved in the Republican Party’s primaries marks a significant change in strategy after it did not participate in the last two battles for the White House nomination.
Trump and the AFP have clashed in recent years after Charles Koch refused to spend the network’s money to influence the 2016 presidential election in favor of Trump.
After Trump took office, AFP’s top leaders in 2018 vented their frustrations with the direction of the Republican Party during Trump’s presidency as they tried to rebrand the organization by vowing to be less partisan and work with elected officials across the spectrum. politician to advance their political priorities.
In a series of tweets in 2018, Trump fired back at the Koch-backed group for saying he would distance himself from the then-president and other top Republicans who do not support his agenda. “The globalist Koch brothers, who have become a total joke in real Republican circles, are against Strong Borders and Powerful Trade. I never sought your support because I don’t need your money or your bad ideas,» Trump tweeted.
Tensions between Trump and AFP were also prevalent during the 2022 midterm election cycle, with Trump’s and AFP’s respective candidates competing in the Nebraska gubernatorial race and the Michigan and South Carolina congressional races.
The influential Club for Growth, which previously aligned with Trump, and other major donors have also distanced themselves from the former president. The group took on Trump in the 2022 midterm elections by endorsing different candidates in the Ohio and Pennsylvania Senate primaries. In an interview with Axios Last month, Club for Growth president David McIntosh said «it’s time for a new standard-bearer who believes in and fights for free market principles» and that the group «just focuses on different things» compared to Trump. .
chuck todd, mark murray , ben kamisar, Bridget Bowman and Alexandra Marquez contributed.