Nikki Haley is moderated by Wall Avenue execs

Nikki Haley, a Republican who entered the 2024 presidential race this month, will attend a fundraiser for her campaign hosted by Wall Street executives in New York on Tuesday, according to an invitation first verified by CNBC.

The fundraiser hosts include Joseph Konzelmann, partner at private equity giant TPG; Gautam Chawla, deputy chairman of financial giant Barclays; and Evan Baehr, who is invited to head a venture capital firm headquartered in Austin, Texas. Tickets for the event range from $3,300 to $6,600.

The Federal Electoral Commission recently set new maximum contribution limits that donors can give to campaigns. You can contribute up to $3,300 in both the primary and general elections, or $6,600 that can be split between the two terms.

Tuesday’s fundraiser for Haley’s campaign marks one of her first trips to New York as a presidential candidate. The former South Carolina governor is looking to raise financial support when she faces former President Donald Trump and several other potential high-profile rivals in the 2024 GOP primary.

Morning Consult’s primary GOP tracker shows Haley receiving 6% support from prospective Republican voters. Former President Donald Trump has support from about 50% of GOP primary voters, according to Morning Consult.

Haley was the Trump administration’s ambassador to the United Nations.

Haley’s campaign will release her full fundraising data at the end of the first quarter, providing a glimpse of who supported her presidential bid early on. However, according to data from the non-partisan OpenSecrets, she is no stranger to support from the financial industry.

Their PAC, Stand for America, has received input from Paul Singer, founder of hedge fund Elliott Management, and James Haskel, a senior portfolio strategist at major investment firm Bridgewater Associates.

Finance executives have played a key role in fundraising for bipartisan political campaigns for well over a decade. Securities and investment industry professionals contributed more than $74 million to President Joe Biden’s successful 2020 campaign.

New York itself is a lucrative hunting ground for candidates looking to raise campaign funds. Over $610 million in campaign contributions came from the Empire State during the 2022 election cycle — over 71% of that went to Democrats and over 23% to Republicans, according to OpenSecrets.

The invitation to the Haley fundraiser said the gathering will be held in Tribeca, a small neighborhood in Manhattan about a mile from Wall Street that has historically been considered one of the most expensive ZIP codes in New York City. It did not include the exact location of the fundraiser.

When contacted by CNBC and asked why he was a co-host and how the event was organized, Chawla did not deny that he was a co-host. He said on the phone, “No, I won’t be speaking to you, but thanks for calling.”

A TPG representative declined to comment. A Baehr representative did not respond to a request for comment.

A spokeswoman for Haley’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment on further details about the former South Carolina governor’s trip to New York.

Konzelmann has previously endorsed Haley. According to a Federal Election Commission filing, he donated $5,000 to their PAC, Stand for America, last year.

Baehr has not donated to Haley’s PAC. He previously contributed to the campaigns of GOP congressional candidates such as Senator JD Vance, R-Ohio.

Chawla has only made three political campaign donations, according to OpenSecrets, and they all went to Democrats. He gave former New York City mayoral candidate Ray McGuire $2,500 and $250 to former Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo’s campaign before she became Biden’s trade secretary.

CORRECTION: This article was updated to reflect that Gina Raimondo was the former governor of Rhode Island, not Delaware.