Nikki Haley has dropped out of the long-shot race to become the Republican party candidate for president in the November 2024 IS elections.
On Wednesday morning, March 6, the former South Carolina governor, former UN ambassador appointed by Trump and the only woman to seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2024 ended her bid, ceding the GOP nomination to Donald Trump.
In brief remarks, Haley declined to endorse Trump, as most of her other GOP primary rivals have already done, instead urging him to give her more moderate-minded supporters a reason to back him in November.
“It is now up to Donald Trump to earn the votes of those in our party and beyond who did not support him,” Haley said to reporters assembled at her campaign headquarters in Daniel Island, South Carolina.
“And I hope he does that. At its best, politics is about bringing people into your cause, not turning them away. And our conservative cause badly needs more people. This is now his time for choosing.”
Haley’s withdrawal comes after a series of losses in states across the US on Super Tuesday, where she failed to halt Trump’s momentum.
Her withdrawal also marks the end of a dozen candidates who signed up to run against Trump but never dared to attack him directly.
Previously appointed by Trump as his United Nations ambassador, Haley was the first Republican to launch her presidential bid after he announced his campaign in late 2022, and was the last to remain in the GOP contest after other challengers bowed out.
Her persistence allowed Haley to make history. In winning her first primary in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, Haley became the first woman to win a GOP presidential primary. She won her first state on Tuesday, narrowly beating Trump in Vermont.
