Republican Nikki Haley, who is a former US ambassador to the United Nations and former governor of South Carolina, is poised to announce a 2024 presidential run on February 15, sources say.
The situation would make Haley the first GOP candidate to join former United States President Donald Trump in the Republican presidential primary. The lawmaker posted a Twitter post on Tuesday saying she will have a "big announcement to share" on February 15 and said it would be a great day in South Carolina.
Nikki Haley's Potential Presidential Run
The Republican's latest hint at a potential 2024 presidential run came earlier this month during an interview where she called for "generational change' in the country's leadership. She noted that a politician does not have to be 80 years old to be a leader in DC Haley added that a younger generation needs to step up and start fixing things.
She noted that when officials are looking at a run for president, they should look at two things. The first is if the current situation is pushing for new leadership, and the second is if they are the person that could be the new leader, as per CBS News.
During the 2022 midterm election cycle, Haley campaigned for Republicans up and down the ticket through her "Stand for America" PAC as she took trips to Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada. All of these areas are early presidential primary states.
The Republican was also a closing surrogate on the trail for Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Senate candidates Dr. Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania and Herschel Walker in Georgia. Haley consistently polled third or fourth in the early 2024 GOP primary polls.
A Trafalgar Group poll conducted in late January of South Carolina primary voters showed that Haley was fourth and received 11.6% of the vote where she was facing Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former Vice President Mike Pence, and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Haley's Reputation in South Carolina
When Haley was the governor of South Carolina, she earned a reputation as a business-friendly leader who prioritized attracting significant companies into the state. According to BBC, she also gained national prominence for her response to the racially-motivated mass shooting at Charleston's Emanuel AME Church in 2015.
In the 2016 Republican presidential contest, Haley endorsed Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, but when Trump became president, the Republican lawmaker still offered her a position in his cabinet. Haley served under the Trump administration for two years and, unlike other GOP members, did not have a public falling out with the former president.
However, Haley's potential 2024 presidential run comes as some criticize her for some of her older stances on several issues. This includes one time in 2012 when she said that "women don't care about contraception."
When her statement received opposition, she backpedaled and said, "While we care about contraception, let's be clear, all we're saying is we don't want the government to mandate when we have to have it and when we don't. We want to be able to make that decision," said Yahoo News.
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