In Iowa, Haley Is Knocking on the Door

A super PAC’s plan to go door to door in Iowa to build support for Nikki Haley faces a couple of difficulties. With the caucuses less than a month away, there are fewer undecided Republican minds now, the New York Times reports. And not everyone is interested in answering their front door on a freezing morning. Either way, the state director for Americans for Prosperity Action said his volunteers and staff members will be out there trying. “My team’s knocked in negative-30-degree wind chills before,” Tyler Raygor said. “Winter does not scare us.”

The pitch is to give the former governor of South Carolina a second look as an alternative to front-runner Donald Trump who matches up better against President Biden. Haley’s goal is to post a stronger showing in the caucuses than anyone expects, after being outspent so far by her competitors. The super PAC can narrow the spending gap; it’s spent $5.7 million in support of Haley around the country since endorsing her last month. Although Haley’s star has been on the ascent generally, her standing in Iowa polls hasn’t budged. She’s been running about 16%, close to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Trump has been around 50%.

A spokesman for DeSantis expressed no concern about the super PAC effort. “Nikki Haley’s 11th-hour rent-a-campaign gambit won’t work,” he said. “Only the Washington establishment would try to pitch that grass-roots success can be bought.” Raygor made incremental headway after knocking on a front door in Ames, per the Times. Mike Morton answered and said he hadn’t thought much about supporting Haley. After Raygor’s pitch, Morton promised to take a closer look. “If you didn’t come to my house,” he said, “I probably would overlook her a little bit more.” (Read more Iowa caucuses stories.)