In a speech delivered on Wednesday morning, Nikki Haley, an Indian-American and former US Ambassador to the United Nations who was vying for the Republican presidential nomination, announced the suspension of her campaign, effectively leaving Donald Trump as the party's singular candidate for the upcoming November election.
Haley declared, "The time has now come to suspend my campaign. I said I wanted Americans to have their voices heard. I have done that. I have no regrets," as she formally withdrew from the presidential race.
Reports suggest that Haley's decision to exit the US presidential race came after experiencing defeats in all but one state—Vermont—during the primary contests of Super Tuesday.
While Haley refrained from endorsing Trump in her address and instead encouraged the former President to actively court the support of Republican and independent voters who had previously backed her.
"It is now up to Donald Trump to earn the votes of those in our party and beyond it," she remarked. "And I hope he does that."
Following the primary elections held on Super Tuesday, both President Joe Biden from the Democratic Party and Trump emerged as the clear frontrunners in their respective parties' presidential nomination contests across 15 states in the US.
In the aftermath of Super Tuesday, 77-year-old Trump surged ahead in the delegate count over his sole Republican competitor, Haley. He secured notable victories in Texas, California, and 11 other states, with Haley managing to claim victory in Vermont, preventing Trump from a clean sweep.
However, in order to clinch the Republican presidential nomination, either candidate must accumulate 1,215 delegates, who are elected during the primaries. Following Super Tuesday, Trump possessed 244 delegates, while Haley trailed significantly with only 86 delegates to her name.
Having served in Trump's Cabinet from 2017 to 2018, Nikki Haley made waves as the first prominent Republican figure to mount a challenge against the former US President when she launched her campaign in February 2023.
