Haley first in GOP to challenge Trump for 2024 White House bid
Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador, entered the race for president Tuesday, a well-hinted-at move that is likely to leave her as the lone major Republican challenger to former President Donald Trump for many weeks, if not months, as other potential 2024 rivals bide their time. By announcing her campaign early, Haley, 51, who called for “generational change” in her party, seized an opportunity for a head start on fundraising and to command a closer look from Republican primary voters, whose support she needs if she is to rise from low single digits in early polls of the GOP field.
She made the announcement in a video that does not mention Trump’s name, but makes clear her intention to break with the Trump era. In addition to calling for a new generation to step up, she urged Republicans to rally around substantive issues and a candidate with appeal to mainstream America.
“Republicans have lost the popular vote in seven out of the last eight presidential elections,” she said. “That has to change.”
Haley’s campaign has drawn encouragement from many polls showing that in a hypothetical multicandidate field, Trump wins less than 50 percent of Republican voters.
Her announcement reversed a statement in 2021 that she would not run if Trump were a candidate. She was a rare figure to leave the Trump administration while earning praise from Trump rather than a parting insult. In a statement, Trump said Haley had in the past called him “the best president in my lifetime,” but added, “I told her she should follow her heart and do what she wants to do.”
Haley’s campaign is banking on her skills as a retail campaigner in early nominating states. She is traveling to New Hampshire after a rally planned in South Carolina on Wednesday, for two town hall-style events, and she plans to be in Iowa next week.