Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador, announced her candidacy for president, becoming the first major challenger to former president Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican nomination.
The announcement, delivered in a video, marks an about-face for the ex-Trump Cabinet official, who said two years ago that she would not challenge her former boss for the White House in 2024.
But she changed her mind in recent months, citing, among other things, the country’s economic troubles and the need for “generational change”, a nod to the 76-year-old Trump’s age.
Ms Haley, 51, is the first in a long line of Republicans who are expected to launch 2024 campaigns in the coming months.
Get excited! Time for a new generation.
Let’s do this! 👊 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/BD5k4WY1CPAdvertisement— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) February 14, 2023
Among them are Florida governor Ron DeSantis, former vice president Mike Pence, former secretary of state Mike Pompeo and senator Tim Scott of South Carolina.
President Joe Biden has said he intends to seek reelection in 2024, stalling any jostling for the Democratic nomination.
Ms Haley has regularly boasted about her track record of defying political expectations, saying: “I’ve never lost an election, and I’m not going to start now.”
If elected, Ms Haley would be the nation’s first female president and the first US president of Indian descent.
The daughter of Indian immigrants, Ms Haley grew up enduring racist taunts in a small South Carolina town and has long referenced that impact on her personal and political arc.
She was an accountant when she launched her first bid for public office, defeating the longest-serving member of the South Carolina House in 2004.
Three terms later and with little statewide recognition, Ms Haley mounted a long-shot campaign for governor against a large field of experienced politicians.
She racked up a number of high-profile endorsements, including from the sitting South Carolina governor, Mark Sanford, and former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, a tea party darling.
With her 2010 victory, Ms Haley became South Carolina’s first female and minority governor — and the nation’s youngest at 38.
She earned a speaking slot at the 2012 Republican National Convention and gave the Republican response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union speech in 2016.
In a statement, Taylor Budowich, spokesman for Trump’s super PAC, said Ms Haley was “just another career politician”.
“She started out as a Never Trumper before resigning to serve in the Trump admin,” he said.
“She then resigned early to go rake in money on corporate boards. Now, she’s telling us she represents a ‘new generation’. Sure just looks like more of the same, a career politician whose only fulfilled commitment is to herself.”
