Nikki Haley is expected to end her campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination on Wednesday, according to people familiar with her plans, following a poor showing on Super Tuesday that leaves Donald Trump as the last major candidate remaining in the race.
Three people close to Ms. Haley confirmed she intends to suspend her campaign at an event scheduled for Wednesday morning, accirding to AP News. While she doesn't currently plan to endorse the former president, Ms. Haley is expected to encourage Trump to court the coalition of moderate Republican and independent voters that backed her long-shot White House bid.
The former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador was unable to mount a significant threat to Trump after launching her campaign in February 2023 as his first high-profile challenger. She struggled to raise money and gain traction despite aggressive efforts to position herself as a more palatable alternative who could broaden the GOP's appeal.
"There remains a large block of Republican primary voters who are expressing deep concerns about Donald Trump," Ms. Haley's campaign spokesperson Olivia Perez-Cubas said in the wake of the Super Tuesday results that allowed the former president to pad his already commanding delegate lead.
Ms. Haley's departure marks the conclusion of the latest unsuccessful attempt by the Republican Party's anti-Trump wing to derail his third straight nomination. Her struggles highlighted the enduring power of his grasp on the GOP base despite his turmoil-filled stint in office that ended with two impeachments.
"Unity is not achieved by simply claiming, 'We're united,'" Ms. Perez-Cubas added in an apparent rebuke of Mr. Trump's assertions that the party had coalesced behind him.
The 51-year-old Ms. Haley had insisted she would persist through Super Tuesday's nationwide nominating contests, barnstorming early-voting states in a futile effort to blunt Mr. Trump's momentum. But she managed just a single win in her former rival's low-turnout home territory of Vermont on Tuesday.
Her campaign had touted potential strength in New England states like Vermont given Ms. Haley's popularity among college-educated GOP voters turned off by Mr. Trump's controversies and his movement's combative populism. However, that demographic wasn't enough to power an upset anywhere else, including in South Carolina where she had previously served as governor.
Ms. Haley's exit comes just over a year after forming an exploratory bid seen as preparing her for a future White House run. She initially ruled out challenging Mr. Trump before reversing course, saying the country's economic woes and need for "generational change" necessitated her candidacy.
The former Trump cabinet member had walked a fine line in her criticism of the former president, faulting his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot while also pledging to pardon him if convicted on federal charges. That carefully modulated approach failed to win over either Mr. Trump's devoted base or the party's anti-Trump faction.
With no remaining rivals, the 76-year-old Trump is now an virtually unstoppable path to officially become the Republican standard bearer again at the party's summer nominating convention. He would then face off against incumbent President Joe Biden, setting up a potential rematch of their 2020 election clash that Mr. Trump falsely claimed was rigged against him.
Ms. Haley's exit could presage an even more polarizing general election cycle as Mr. Trump vies to return to the White House while facing various criminal investigations related to his conduct surrounding the 2020 race and his post-presidential efforts to cling to power.
