© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A general view of the White House in Washington, U.S., July 15, 2021. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
(Reuters) – A political advocacy group backed by billionaire businessman Charles Koch is preparing to run in the 2024 U.S. presidential primaries and says it wants to back a candidate who can “lead the country forward.” , according to a memo released Sunday. saying.
The group, Americans for Prosperity (AFP), has not previously endorsed candidates in presidential elections, but said in the memo that the best thing for the country would be to have a president in 2025 who “represents a new chapter.”
The memo, addressed to AFP staff and activists by AFP CEO Emily Seidel and posted on the organization’s website, does not mention the current US President Joe Biden or his predecessor by name. Donald Trump, but says that to “write a new chapter… we turn the page from the past.”
“Here’s the hard truth as I see it,” the memo read. “The Republican Party is nominating bad candidates who advocate things that go against fundamental American principles. And the American people are rejecting them.
“The Democratic Party sees this more and more as a political opportunity. And they are responding with more and more extreme policies… This means that the country is in a downward spiral, with both parties reinforcing the bad behavior of the
other.”
The group, which has advocated for lower taxes, less regulation and free trade, reiterated its presence in key states, saying “no one is better positioned to engage and mobilize people in those states.”
Former President Trump is so far the only announced Republican candidate, although former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley is expected to begin her campaign for the nomination this month.