Haley to exit 2024 race, clearing path for Trump’s nomination

Nikki Haley will suspend her Republican presidential campaign Wednesday, according to sources familiar with her plans.

Haley is slated to deliver remarks in Charleston, S.C., at 10 a.m. EST.

The Wall Street Journal, which broke the news, reported that Haley will not endorse former President Trump on Wednesday, but will call on him “to earn the support of Republicans and independent voters who backed her.”

Haley’s decision puts an end to what had become a two-person race between her and Trump and all but guarantees the former president will secure the Republican nomination.

Haley sought to be the main Republican alternative to Trump and surprised many when she started to gain significant momentum late last year, ultimately surpassing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in most polls. But Haley was unable to overtake the former president, who remained the consistent front-runner for the GOP nomination.

The latest development follows double-digit losses to Trump in New Hampshire and Haley’s home state of South Carolina, as well as an embarrassing defeat in a Nevada primary where Trump’s name wasn’t even on the ballot.

She was able to notch wins in Vermont on Super Tuesday and in the Washington, D.C., GOP presidential primary this past weekend, but Trump’s wins in most of the other Super Tuesday states made him almost mathematically certain to be the party’s nominee.

Haley, a former South Carolina governor who served as Trump’s United Nations ambassador, became the second major Republican to join the race after the former president. She initially said in 2021 that she would not run for president in 2024 if Trump did, but later changed course.

Haley pitched herself as the best opportunity to move on from the former president, whom she attacked during the race on various issues including the rising national debt during his presidency and his foreign policy stances.

She also criticized the “chaos” she said followed Trump, and called for a new generation of leaders to move on from both him and President Biden. She repeatedly pointed to polling that showed her performing the strongest of all the top Republican presidential candidates against Biden in hypothetical general election match-ups.

Haley had several strong debate performances in which audiences appeared to view her as at least one of the winners. She saw a significant uptick in the polls that sent her into a battle with DeSantis for second place in the field, and her rise in the polls also led to a significant increase in fundraising for her candidacy.

By the day of the Iowa caucuses, polls had shown her moving up into second place ahead of DeSantis, who had spent more time and devoted significant resources to campaigning in the Hawkeye State. Haley ultimately came in third, but was just 2 points behind DeSantis.

She declared in a speech following the results that Iowa had made the contest a “two-person race” between her and Trump.

Haley also seemed to be in a position to possibly upset Trump in the first-in-the-nation primary of New Hampshire, as polls consistently showed her on the rise there for months. A few surveys had her just a few points behind Trump or even tied with him, and the late departure of former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) from the race seemed likely to help her further, as many of his supporters indicated she was their second choice.

But Haley could not rally enough support to stop Trump from taking both of the first two states to vote, falling short of a needed boost to potentially stop his nomination.

Updated at 6:50 a.m. EST