Americans for Prosperity appears to be endorsing someone other than Donald Trump

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MANCHESTER, NH A political advocacy group backed by billionaire Charles Koch is positioning itself for an active role in the 2024 presidential primary, with plans to endorse a Republican candidate other than former president Donald Trump.

Despite working with the Trump administration on several conservative and libertarian policy wins, the Kochs network has taken an almost hands-off approach to the 2020 presidential election, focusing instead on down-ballot races. This time, the network plans to boost someone who can defeat President Biden.

The plan is to endorse the person we believe is the best person to help the country move forward and lead to a more productive policymaking environment, said Emily Seidel, the CEO of Americans for Prosperity, an influential advocacy organization in political part of the Kochs network.

Seidel spoke to reporters Wednesday at AFP’s New Hampshire office in Manchester during a brief visit to the state. He said he came to meet his team and members of the press to discuss the AFP’s voter outreach operation.

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Seidel explained in more detail the groups that had previously announced a 2024 strategy that, as he wrote in a memo in February, was to turn the page on the past and write a new chapter for the country after the conservatives suffered heavy defeats in 2022.

Citing recent polls, Seidel said the majority of Americans don’t want Trump or Biden in 2024. And even among Republicans who like Trump, there are widespread concerns about his ability to win the general election, adding he.

While it’s too early to name names or even ballpark the number of potential GOP presidential candidates being considered for an endorsement, Seidel said AFP is in talks with those voters across the country, including in New Hampshire and other states with primaries early in the nominating calendar, to understand the issues that matter most to them and what qualities they want their next president to have.

At some point later this year, when it’s clear who the best candidate is, be prepared to endorse him and then go back to those same voters and encourage them to support that person and make sure they vote, he said. .

We want someone who can turn the page on the last decade of politics in our country, lead our country forward, and win. And right now, Donald Trump’s campaign … is not in a position to meet that standard, he added.

Seidel said the AFP will emphasize policies to rekindle the American dream by promoting freedom and opportunity. Groups favoring policy issues include spending restraint, reducing regulation, and promoting educational choice. The group does not advocate abortion, Seidel said.

The AFP press shop applauded the actions of several Republican leaders, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, who are considering potential GOP presidential bids. DeSantis is widely viewed as Trump’s leading rival.

The prospect of more AFP involvement in New Hampshire election politics drew a shrug from New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley.

The money the billionaire Koch family has thrown at the state it runs in about a dozen different organizations has not been as effective in the general election, he said. And it still gets blue, a little blue every election.

Steven Porter can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @reporterporter.

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