The main super PAC backing Nikki Haley said Thursday that it had raised $50.1 million in the second half of 2023, a hefty sum that eclipses the amount brought in by the leading super PAC backing former President Donald J. Trump.
The group, SFA Fund Inc., provided the figure to The New York Times but did not offer additional details about its finances. Detailed filings are due with the Federal Election Commission on Jan. 31, and will lay out all of the fund-raising and spending the group did between July 1 and Dec. 31.
The Trump-aligned super PAC, MAGA Inc., said Thursday that it had raised more than $46 million in the second half of 2023, and that it had ended the year with just over $23 million cash on hand.
In all of 2023, SFA Fund Inc. — short for Stand for America Fund — raised $68.9 million. It is not clear how much the group has on hand, but records show the group has spent heavily: $61.7 million on independent expenditures — primarily advertising costs — in the second half of the year.
While the haul by Ms. Haley’s super PAC shows how donors flocked to her as the Republican field consolidated late last year, it is unclear if she can sustain that financial strength in a two-person race against Mr. Trump. He beat her handily in the first two contests in Iowa and New Hampshire this month, but she has vowed to continue her campaign for the nomination.
In a statement, Taylor Budowich, the chief executive of MAGA Inc., did not mention Ms. Haley’s continued efforts.
“The general election has already started,” he said. “President Trump has a clear path to win, but Democrats are spending more money and they are doing it earlier than ever before.”
One of the biggest donors to MAGA Inc. was Timothy Mellon, a transportation executive and an heir to the Mellon family banking fortune, who gave $10 million, a representative for MAGA Inc. said.
Mr. Mellon has supported Mr. Trump’s re-election efforts in the past, but last spring he gave $5 million to a super PAC backing Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who was then running for president as a Democrat and is now pursuing an independent bid.
Shane Goldmacher contributed reporting.