Nikki Haley raises USD 1 mn in less than three days after GOP debate

Washington: Indian-American Nikki Haley has raised more than USD 1 million in less than 72 hours after last week's maiden Republican presidential primary debate, her campaign said on Monday noting that this is a sign of "real momentum" to her race.

"Nikki Haley's post-debate momentum is real and growing," her campaign said after Haley addressed a large rally of her supporters in South Carolina on Monday.

The Haley campaign raised more than USD 1 million in less than 72 hours after the inaugural debate, the campaign said.

"And this afternoon, South Carolinians came out in droves to Haley's town hall in Indian Land, S.C. The crowd was so big, Haley stopped by not one, not two, but three overflow rooms to greet voters," it said.

Addressing the gathering, Haley said the partnership between China and Russia is "an axis of evil." China, she said, has been planning war with America for years, and that's not being dramatic.

"China's never wanted to be like us. They want to be communist, and we have to change the way we deal with them," Haley said.

"I think in the first 72 hours, we raised a million dollars. We've had thousands of people volunteer. We've had a lot of people join the campaign. The phones are still ringing," Haley told Fox News Digital in an interview.

Popularity of Haley, a former South Carolina governor, has gone up after the maiden presidential primary debate last week.

The Republican presidential race has two Indian-Americans -- Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

The local Post and Courier said the campaign is hoping the debate will do what dozens of town halls and whistle stops could not: launch her campaign out of the doldrums to the tier of candidates chasing former president Donald Trump's formidable lead.

The 24 hours after the debate were Haley's best day of digital fundraising since she launched her bid in February, her campaign said without giving an exact figure, the daily reported.

At the Indian Land town hall, the energy was on display. Over an hour before it began, the lower section of the auditorium was filled. Visitors funnelled into an upper balcony. When seats disappeared there, more people flooded into the overflow room where they sat and stood, the newspaper said.