After Haley's exit, her donors divide on whether to switch to Trump or vote against him
"There is a hunger for about 40% of this country that wants ... normalcy."
Even as the list of Nikki Haley's primary defeats grew longer before she ultimately suspended her campaign this week, her financial support never dried up.
The donors that stuck with the former South Carolina governor in the final weeks and months of her bid against former President Donald Trump -- some of whom spoke with ABC News before and some who spoke after she left the race -- say their loyalty was less about her path forward and more about showing an unwavering support for a candidate they believe in.
That echoes her own argument that someone needed to give Trump skeptics in the party an alternative even as many conservatives embraced him once again.
"There is a hunger for about 40% of this country that wants a return to normalcy, and she has presented that it may not be the winning formula this go round," said Ozzie Palomo, a Republican bundler who has been raising money for Haley for a long time.
"But if things play out pretty negatively for Republicans come November, she has two legs to stand on and to say, 'I've shown you a different path and let's play ball going into the midterms in '26, and then the presidential cycle in 28,'" Palomo continued.
Palomo, who cohosted multiple recent fundraisers for Haley, said there was great enthusiasm from both her fundraisers and campaign rallies. He said the Haley campaign raised at least $125,000 from one of the VIP receptions in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., where Haley saw the first of two victories. (The other was in Vermont, hours before she ended her campaign.)
Palomo said that he doesn't see himself voting for President Joe Biden over Trump in the general election.
"To be honest with you, I'd probably sit back and assess the situation," he said. "Flipping the Senate would be probably priority No. 1 for me, and protecting the House would come close."
Another longtime Haley donor, who asked to remain anonymous to speak freely, however, indicated she will not vote for Trump in November. This donor said she still plans to go out to vote on Election Day but will write-in Haley's name for the presidential race and then focus on down-ballot races.
"I'm sure there's a percentage that will vote Republican no matter what -- I used to be that way, but I'm not anymore," this donor said.
The donor, who has also attended at least one of Haley's fundraisers in recent days, said Haley's message to her supporters -- which turned out to be something of a closing message -- had been consistent.
"It's a narrow path, it's a tough path, but it's worth fighting for our country," the donor said, paraphrasing Haley. "We need a voice of clarity in issues where we used to all commonly agree."
After she publicly announced the end of her campaign Wednesday morning, Haley had a short call with a small group of her donors and finance leadership team, during which she mainly thanked them for their support, multiple donors who were on the call told ABC News.
In a way, Haley's losses had fired up some of her supporters even more: Her campaign said it raised $1 million within the 24 hours of her defeat in the South Carolina Republican primary in late February.
But overall, her fundraising throughout the month of February slowed down, with the campaign announcing a $12 million total raised across her campaign committee and other fundraising vehicles compared to $16.5 million from January.
Some of Haley's new fundraisers were picked up as the GOP field narrowed -- like with Virginians Bobbie and Bill Kilberg, previously supporters of former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who suspended his 2024 presidential campaign earlier this year.
The Kilbergs, who hosted one of Haley's Virginia fundraisers last week, are vocal Trump critics and have raised money for former Rep. Liz Cheney, one of the most prominent anti-Trump Republicans.
Bill Kilberg described him and his wife as "Reagan people": "We want to support Ukraine, we want to support Israel, we're upset with the behavior in the House, and she's out there saying those things, standing tall with enormous energy. And that's all we need."
"To be honest, we don't focus on the path forward," he said. "Maybe there is one in the Republican Party, maybe there isn't. The way we look at it is we don't have a choice."
"We're not comfortable either with Biden or with Trump, and Haley gives us the opportunity to support somebody who is a great communicator, whose views we respect and largely agree with," Bill Kilberg continued.
He faulted Haley, slightly, on one point.
"Would I prefer that she also be clearer and stronger with regard to Trump's failings? Yes, but she's not. And we're making that compromise because she's out there, otherwise leading the fight," Bill Kilberg said in an interview before Haley suspended her campaign.
While leaving the race on Wednesday, she said, "It is now up to Donald Trump to earn the votes of those in our party and those beyond it to support him. I hope he does that."
More than 700,000 people cast ballots for Haley across the GOP nominating races so far, compared to about 1.5 million for Trump.
In a social media post, he reached out to her voters while also taking another swipe at her, and he has previously said that "I'm not sure we need too many" of her supporters.
David Wilkins, a former U.S. ambassador to Canada under President George W. Bush, who has long been an ally and fundraiser for Haley, praised her campaign, saying she did "remarkably well" considering the "formidable task" she was faced with.
"I was proud that she won a state," he said of Super Tuesday, referring to Vermont. "I was disappointed she didn't win more delegates that evening but again, keep in mind, former President Trump is a very formidable campaigner and has a very strong base, and I don't think the results were surprising to most people."
Unlike some Haley donors, Wilkins is looking ahead and has made up his mind to support Trump now that Haley isn't running anymore.
"I'm a proud Republican -- have been all my adult life," he said.
He said he doesn't know if he'd fundraise for or donate to Trump, and he hasn't been asked to do so yet.
He's seen Republican donors around him split between those willing to support whomever the Republican nominee is and some that don't want to support Trump, he said. But he believes the party will be able to coalesce behind Trump eventually.
"I know that I'm going to support the Republican nominee for president," he said, "and that obviously is going to be Donald Trump."
ABC News' Hannah Demissie and Nicholas Kerr contributed to this report.
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