Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley suspended her presidential campaign Wednesday after a round of sweeping defeats to former President Donald Trump in Super Tuesday primary races, clearing the way for Mr. Trump’s rematch with President Biden.
A person familiar with the Haley campaign confirmed the decision to The Washington Times ahead of her morning announcement.
Ms. Haley, the former U.S. ambassador for the U.N., was the last candidate standing between Mr. Trump and the GOP nomination, though her slim chances of reaching Mr. Trump evaporated Tuesday when the ex-president gobbled up delegates in over a dozen primary races.
Mr. Trump is on pace to reach the 1,215 delegates he needs to secure the nomination later this month.
His front-runner status was never in doubt after romping to early victories in Iowa, New Hampshire and Ms. Haley’s home state of South Carolina.
Yet Ms. Haley stuck around, saying the U.S. doesn’t do “coronations” and that Republican voters deserved an alternative to Mr. Trump.
SEE ALSO: Nikki Haley suggests she’s no longer bound by RNC pledge to support GOP nominee
She cast doubt on Mr. Trump’s ability to win a general election and said the U.S. needed a new generation of leaders instead of Mr. Trump, 77, and Mr. Biden, who is 81.
Ms. Haley, 52, gained traction with centrists and college-educated GOP voters but could not win over the loyal MAGA base.
Ms. Haley does not plan to endorse Trump in her Wednesday announcement and will instead urge Mr. Trump to win over her supporters, according to The Associated Press.
“Unity is not achieved by simply claiming ’we’re united.’ Today, in state after state, there remains a large block of Republican primary voters who are expressing deep concerns about Donald Trump. That is not the unity our party needs for success. Addressing those voters’ concerns will make the Republican Party and America better,” Haley national spokeswoman Olivia Perez-Cubas said late Tuesday.
Ms. Haley initially said she would not challenge Mr. Trump but changed her mind and hopped into the presidential primary in early 2023.
She wasn’t viewed as Mr. Trump’s chief GOP rival at first — that honor belonged to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
SEE ALSO: Trump, Biden hurtle toward rematch as ex-president dominates Super Tuesday
Yet Mr. DeSantis failed to peel away Trump loyalists while Ms. Haley appealed to a broader coalition of “Never Trump” voters in the GOP.
Headlines around the war in Gaza and other foreign policy issues worked in her favor, too, and she made history by becoming the first woman to win GOP primaries. She won in D.C. on Sunday and Vermont on Tuesday.
Yet losses elsewhere mounted, signaling she wouldn’t be able to gain enough ground on Mr. Trump.
Ms. Haley has signaled she is not interested in serving as Mr. Trump’s vice president or as a third-party candidate, though she might remain relevant in future political cycles.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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