Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign plans to reserve $10 million in television, radio and digital advertising in Iowa and New Hampshire starting in the first week of December — its first investment in advertising this cycle and a move meant to give the candidate a boost as the clock ticks for the field to make significant gains against former President Donald Trump.

Haley, the former governor of South Carolina and a U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under Trump, has seen steadily rising numbers in surveys of early voting states. A series of standout debate performances has brought in grassroots donors and more high-dollar backers after months of campaigning, with campaign officials saying it raised more than $1 million in the 24 hours after the debate last week.

She is polling second in New Hampshire and third in Iowa, according to some surveys, but Trump remains the front-runner in those states and nationally.

Her campaign is betting on an eventual Haley-Trump showdown in South Carolina, her home state and the third on the nominating calendar.

But Haley is now looking to outstrip her main challenger for second place, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, to become the clear alternative to Trump.

Andrew Romeo, a communications director, on Monday argued that only DeSantis had the “best combination of endorsements, ground game and message in the early states” to rise above Trump.

Betsy Ankeny, Haley’s campaign manager, has contended that even if DeSantis were to perform well in Iowa, he was in such a diminished position in New Hampshire and South Carolina that it wouldn’t matter.