(NewsNation) — Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is expected to suspend her presidential campaign Wednesday, sources familiar with the campaign confirmed to NewsNation. Her decision will clear the way for former President Donald Trump to secure the Republican nomination later this year.
According to her campaign, Haley will deliver remarks at 10 a.m. ET in Charleston.
Haley defeated Trump in the Vermont Republican primary Tuesday, but the former president dominated in every other state. The victory delivered Haley her biggest win since the start of the GOP primary season, but until Tuesday the only GOP nominating contest she had won was in Washington, D.C.
She thanked her supporters Tuesday night and noted she is the first woman to win two Republican primaries. Haley said her showing in the primaries is a sign there are Republicans who have deep concerns about Trump that need to be addressed.
“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,” said Oliva Perez-Cubas, national spokesperson for Haley’s campaign.
Ahead of the first primary of the season in New Hampshire in January, Haley was the last remaining challenger to Trump, the presumed front-runner who maintained a massive lead in polling throughout the contest. Throughout 2023, interest and favorability swung in the directions of Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, though each candidate’s upswing faded quickly.
Haley made a late surge heading into the Iowa caucus, finishing third behind Trump and DeSantis. A week later, she came in second in the New Hampshire primary, still behind Trump.
She suffered a setback in the Nevada primary, where she came in second behind “none of these candidates.” Trump opted to run in the state’s caucus.
In her home state of South Carolina, Haley was once again bested by Trump, but she vowed to stay in the race through Super Tuesday.
Haley campaigned on a message of leading the next generation of conservatives in America, one that failed to resonate with the majority of Republican voters who preferred Trump’s vision.
The former president said after his landslide win in Iowa that it’s time for the country to “come together.” He vowed to “drill, baby, drill” and “seal up the border” if he is reelected.
The daughter of Punjabi Indian immigrants, Haley grew up in rural South Carolina where she described enduring racist taunts, an experience she says had an impact on her personal and political life.
In 2011, Haley became the first woman and first Indian American to be elected governor of South Carolina. Haley then served as the ambassador to the United Nations from the U.S. under Trump. She was the first major GOP challenger to Trump when she launched her campaign in February 2023. Haley was the fifth Republican woman this century to run for president.
In New Hampshire, Haley earned the endorsement of Gov. Chris Sununu, but it wasn’t enough to propel her to victory. She was courting the state’s large bloc of independent voters who may have been disillusioned by President Joe Biden’s policies but found Trump an unappealing alternative.
Indeed, polls consistently show that Americans don’t want a Trump-Biden rematch. About 59% in a recent NewsNation/Decision Desk HQ poll said they would not be enthusiastic about a rematch, and 43% of respondents think Trump would win that showdown compared to 33% who expect Biden to win.
Haley leaned heavily into polling ahead of the New Hampshire primary, telling voters she stood the best chance of beating Biden in November. Polls often showed her running ahead of Biden in a hypothetical matchup by several points, a much better head-to-head performance than if the Republican candidate were Trump.
NewsNation digital producer Tom Palmer contributed to this report.
