Nikki Haley suspends her presidential campaign this Wednesday after suffering a resounding defeat in several parts of the country on Super Tuesday, according to people familiar with her decision.
This leaves Donald Trump as the last major contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.
His decision came a day after Super Tuesday, in which he scored a surprising victory over Trump in Vermont, preventing him from sweeping 50 states but failing to win any other states. He also won the Washington DC primary this past weekend.
“I am filled with gratitude for the outpouring of support we have received from across our great country, but the time has come to suspend my campaign,” Haley said during a brief speech in Charleston, South Carolina.
Three people with direct information, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, confirmed Haley’s decision ahead of an official announcement scheduled for Wednesday morning.
Haley does not plan to support Trump in her message, according to people briefed on her plans. Instead, she will urge the former president to seek support from the coalition of moderate Republicans and independent voters who supported her.
Haley, the former governor of South Carolina and former US ambassador to the United Nations, was Trump’s first significant challenger when she entered the race in February 2023.
In the final stage of his campaign he aggressively warned the Republican Party not to align with Trump, who he said is too consumed by chaos and personal grievances to defeat incumbent President Joe Biden in the general election.
Haley’s departure paves the way for Trump to focus on his likely repeat duel with Biden in November.
The former president is on track to obtain the 1,215 delegates necessary to obtain the Republican nomination this month.
Haley had previously promised the Republican National Committee that she would support the party’s eventual nominee. But in an interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Sunday, she said she is no longer bound by that promise and that she “would make whatever decision she wanted to make.”
“I said I wanted Americans to make their voices heard. I have. I have no regrets. And even though I will no longer be a candidate, I will not stop using my voice for the things I believe in.”
He did not support Trump.
“I’ve always been a conservative Republican and I’ve always supported the Republican candidate,” Haley said. “But on this issue, as she did on so many others, (former British Prime Minister) Margaret Thatcher gave us some good advice when she said: ‘Never just follow the crowd. Always decide for yourself.'”
Haley, however, called on Trump “to earn the votes of those in our party and outside of it who did not support him,” adding: “I hope he does.”
Former ambassador to the United Nations and Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley speaks at a campaign event in Fort Worth, Texas, Monday, March 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Haley’s defeat was a painful but predictable blow to voters, donors and members of the Republican Party who oppose Trump and his combative brand of “Make America Great Again” politics.
He was especially popular among moderate and college-educated voters, two groups that are likely to play a crucial role in the general election.
It is unclear whether Trump, who recently declared that Haley’s donors would be permanently banned from his movement, can unify a deeply divided party.
Haley abandons the 2024 presidential campaign after making history as the first woman to win a Republican primary. She defeated Trump in the District of Columbia on Sunday and in Vermont on Tuesday.
