Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley will kick off her campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination this month, facing off against her former boss, former President Donald Trump, two sources familiar with her plans said Wednesday.
The move would make her the second outright Republican candidate and could set the stage for a more combative phase of the campaign, potentially putting her in the crosshairs of the combative former US president, Reuters reported today.
Haley’s campaign sent an email to supporters Wednesday inviting them to a Feb. 15 event in Charleston. There he will declare his candidacy, say the sources mentioned.
South Carolina is expected to host one of the first Republican nominating primaries in 2024 and will play a significant role in the choice of the eventual nominee.
Nikki Haley’s chances
The daughter of two Indian immigrants who ran a successful clothing store in a rural part of the state, Haley has earned a reputation in the Republican Party as a staunch conservative who has the ability to address issues of gender and race in a way that is more credible than many of his colleagues, says the medium.
She has also come forward as a strong advocate for American interests abroad, having served as the US ambassador to the United Nations under Trump from 2017 to 2018.
During that time, the United States withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal, which was signed under the Democratic government. President Barack Obama and was very unpopular with Republicans.
A Haley associate said she chose to launch her campaign so early to try to grab voters’ attention and shake up a race that has hitherto been dominated by Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has yet to say whether he will run. .
Many key Republican donors and elected officials in South Carolina have been seeking alternatives to Trump amid concerns about his electability, according to records in recent weeks with more than a dozen party officials and strategists.
Several prominent Republicans, including Haley and US Sen. Tim Scott, chose to skip a Trump campaign appearance in Columbia on Saturday, which was intended to show their support in the state.
Trump told reporters Saturday that Haley had called him to say she was considering running and that he told her to “go by your ear if you want to run,” according to multiple media reports.
Haley received national attention in 2015 when, as governor, she signed a bill removing the Confederate battle flag from the South Carolina state capitol grounds, following the murder of nine black parishioners by white supremacist Dylann Roof.
If she were to win the nomination, Haley would be the first woman atop the Republican presidential ticket in history, as well as the party’s first non-white nominee.
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