Former South Carolina governor and UN envoy Nikki Haley has declared her candidacy for president of the United States in 2024.
After former employer Donald Trump announced his candidacy in November, she is the second prominent Republican to enter the race.
She had previously stated that she wouldn’t run against him for the presidency in 2021, but she has since altered her mind, citing the need for “generational change.”
The third Indian American to run for president is Ms. Haley.
Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, and Mike Pence, the former vice president, are among the other Republicans anticipated to begin their campaigns for nomination.
She has previously criticized Mr. Trump’s actions leading up to and during his supporters’ attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
In a speech delivered the day following the unrest, she claimed that “his acts since election day would be judged harshly by history.”
Even on what ought to be friendly turf, the former ambassador will face an uphill battle as most early surveys in South Carolina, whose primary he won on his way to the president in 2016, show Mr. Trump with a large lead.
Mr. Trump is currently in the lead with 43% of the vote, while Ms. Haley is in fourth place with 12%, according to a recent poll by the polling company Trafalgar Group, which included both current and likely candidates.
She was preceded in the race by Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, whose 2015 campaign failed to find traction, and current Vice President Kamala Harris, who ran for president in 2020.
