SFA Fund, a PAC supporting former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s run for President, is out with a new ad in New Hampshire ahead of what is expected to be a late-January Primary.
The ad, entitled “Open Border,” focuses on Haley’s track record on immigration and securing the southern border. The ad opens with a stark warning from the former U.N. Ambassador.
“Iran has said the easiest way to get into America is through the southern border. We don’t need to wait for another 9/11,” Haley is seen saying, before a deep-voiced narrator takes over to declare that Haley represents “strength again for America.”
The word “again” is strategic, sending a message to voters that the U.S. isn’t strong under current leadership — a very subtle dig on incumbent Democratic President Joe Biden — and that in her own leadership roles, the U.S. was strong.
Footage of Haley speaking again takes over in the ad.
“We have to secure the border,” she insists. “Instead of ‘catch and release,’ let’s go to ‘catch and deport.’ We need to make sure we put 25,000 more border patrol and ICE agents on the ground and let them do their job.”
The narrator again jumps in, noting that Haley would “close the border before it’s too late.”
The ad closes with footage of Haley demanding that “America needs to wake up.”
The border message has historically been something more prominent in border states like Texas and Arizona, but it has in recent years become a nationwide debate and Republicans are framing it as a crisis for all Americans, not just those who share a border with Mexico.
In a press release announcing the new ad, SFA Fund called the border situation a “public safety concern” because immigrants are flooding into the U.S. and officials don’t “know who is entering the country.” They referenced “chaos raging across the world” that necessitates “increased safety” as a “top priority.”
“Nikki Haley understands the need for increased resources and security at the border, not just because of her experience as Ambassador to the UN, but because she has spent time visiting the border and meeting with residents that live nearby. As the border crisis continues, our border must remain one of the top concerns for our presidential candidates because President Biden has neglected to do anything about it,” SFA spokesperson Brittany Yanick said.
Haley, as of Nov. 13, has taken over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ No. 2 spot behind former President Donald Trump, according to FiveThirtyEight’s average of polls. The former South Carolina Governor has nearly 15% support. The puts her 4 points ahead of DeSantis, who has less than 11%, but still nearly 30 points back from Trump, who commands nearly 44% support in the Granite State.
