Former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley today announced her candidacy for the 2024 US presidential race.
Haley delivered her announcement via a video. “Now is not the time to hold back. Now is the time for a strong and proud America,” she tweeted, linking to a campaign video.
Get excited! Time for a new generation.
Let’s do this! ? ?? pic.twitter.com/BD5k4WY1CP
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) February 14, 2023
She is the second major Republican candidate to run, after ex-boss Donald Trump launched his bid in November.
Ms Haley is the third Indian American to seek a presidential nomination. Other Indian Americans to run before her were Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, whose bid in 2015 never gained significant traction, and current Vice-President Kamala Harris, who sought the 2020 nomination.
She said in 2021 she wouldn’t challenge him for the White House, but changed her mind in recent months, citing the need for “generational change”.
Other Republicans expected to launch campaign to be selected for their party include Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former Vice President Mike Pence.
She has previously criticised Mr Trump’s behaviour up to and during the 6 January 2021 attack on the US Capitol by his supporters. The day after the riot, she said in a speech that “his actions since election day will be judged harshly by history”.
If elected, Haley would be the nation’s first female president and the first American president of Indian descent.
Haley, the daughter of immigrants from India, spent her formative years in a South Carolina town amid what she says were racist taunts. She has, on various occasions, has referenced the impact of those taunts on her personal and political career.
She launched her first bid for public office in 2004 while working as an accountant. She defeating the longest-serving member of the South Carolina House.
Three terms later, she mounted a long-shot campaign for governor against a large field of experienced politicians. She got a number of high-profile endorsements, including from the sitting South Carolina governor, Mark Sanford, and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
Haley’s 2010 win made her 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 GOP response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union in 2016
