Nikki Haley, a former governor of South Carolina and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, announced her campaign for the 2024 United States presidential election in a campaign video on February 14, 2023. On March 6, 2024, Haley suspended her campaign following Super Tuesday. Haley is the first woman of color to be a major candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, the first woman to run against a former president as a major party candidate, and the first female former governor to run for president.
If elected, Haley would have become the first female president and the first Asian American president of the United States.
On March 3, 2024, she became the first woman and first Asian-American in U.S. history to win a Republican presidential primary with her victory in the District of Columbia primary; she later won the Vermont primary, making her the first woman to win a state Republican presidential primary and the first woman to win two Republican presidential primaries. She dropped out of the Republican primary race on March 6, 2024, but continued to attract support in Republican primaries.
Background Early speculation for national office Haley was first elected governor of South Carolina in the 2010 election and reelected in the 2014 election. She gained a national profile during her tenure, which led to speculation that she would be a potential vice presidential candidate in 2012 and 2016.
In January 2016, the House Republican Conference announced that Haley would give the English Republican Response to the State of the Union address, furthering the vice-presidential rumors.
President-elect Donald Trump nominated Haley to the position of U.N. Ambassador on November 23, 2016. During her tenure as U.N. ambassador, there was speculation that she was using the position to gain foreign policy experience in preparation for a future presidential candidacy. This speculation was motivated by the open policy disagreements Haley and the Trump administration experienced.
Pre-candidacy developments In 2019, Haley created a new policy group named Stand for America, a group that promotes public policies aimed at strengthening the economy, culture, and national security. Haley hired influential political strategist Tim Chapman as the group's executive director, which some believed indicated she was gearing up for a presidential campaign. Several billionaires and hedge fund managers have made large donations to the group.
In February 2021, Haley created a PAC to endorse and support candidates in the 2022 midterm elections. She hired former NRSC political director Betsy Ankney to be executive director. She campaigned for Republican candidates in Georgia, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, and Wisconsin in the lead up to election day. This move was seen as an effort to lay the stages of a 2024 campaign and boost her national image.While speaking at Christians United for Israel's Washington summit in July 2022, Haley hinted at a run for president in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, saying, "If this president signs any sort of [Iran nuclear] deal, I'll make you a promise: The next president will shred it on her first day in office", and, "Just saying, sometimes it takes a woman." In November, Haley attended an event at Clemson University, during which she confirmed she would use the holiday season to make a decision on launching a campaign: "If we decide to get into it, we'll put 1,000 percent in, and we'll finish it."
On January 31, 2023, it was reported that Haley would announce a bid for the presidency on February 15, making her the first challenger to former president Donald Trump's campaign. Haley became the third Indian-American politician to seek a presidential nomination following Bobby Jindal and Kamala Harris. Haley had previously claimed that she would not run for the candidacy if Trump also sought the nomination.
Campaign
Announcement and launch On February 14, 2023, Haley released a video announcing her intent to run as a candidate for the Republican nomination for president. Filmed in her hometown of Bamberg, South Carolina, Haley spoke of her Indian heritage, race relations, global human rights violations, her tenure as governor and ambassador, and the threats facing the United States before announcing her run.
On February 15, 2023, Haley officially launched her candidacy during a campaign event in Charleston, South Carolina. John Hagee gave the invocation. Other notable speakers were Cindy Warmbier (the mother of Otto Warmbier), Representative Ralph Norman, and Katon Dawson (former South Carolina Republican Party chairman). Norman's early support of Haley was considered significant in light of his history of supporting Trump and Norman's efforts to overturn the 2020 election. At the event, Haley also praised Hagee, saying she still wanted to be him when she grew up. Hagee is known for his history of making controversial statements, which led 2008 Republican nominee John McCain to reject his endorsement during McCain's own presidential campaign.
Her launch event featured "Eye of the Tiger", prompting the song's co-author, Frankie Sullivan, to criticize Haley for the unauthorized use of his song.
As South Carolina's former governor, commentators suggested that the early date of the 2024 South Carolina Republican primary would play to Haley's advantage in the primary.
Post-announcement Haley spent the first months of her campaign mostly in Iowa and New Hampshire, which are two states with early primary election dates. By May 19, 2023, she had held 22 events in Iowa.
Her first post-launch event was held the day after her Charleston event on February 16 in Exeter, New Hampshire. She was introduced by former Republican Senate candidate Don Bolduc. Bolduc endorsed Haley on Twitter the same day.
In March 2023, Haley spoke at two major competing conservative conferences: the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) and a private donor event held by the Club for Growth. Haley was one of two Republican active or potential candidates to attend both, while most other candidates (both announced and speculated) chose one event or the other. Trump only appeared at CPAC after not being invited by the club. Ron DeSantis, Florida's governor who would later enter the presidential race, declined to attend CPAC in favor of the club's event. This split in attendance among high-profile Republican officials made Haley's double appearance notable. It was considered a display of Haley's effort to appeal to the two major factions of the Republican party.
On April 26, Haley went on Fox News, stating, "I think we can all be very clear and say with a matter of fact that if you vote for Joe Biden, you really are counting on a President [Kamala] Harris because the idea that he would make until 86 years old is not something that I think is likely." White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates noted the comment: "As you know, we don't directly respond to campaigns from here. But honestly, I forgot she was running."
On June 3, Haley spoke at the annual Roast and Ride fundraiser hosted by Senator Joni Ernst, where she called for "a new generational leader". The following day, Haley participated in a CNN town hall, where she criticized Trump for his support of the January 6 United States Capitol attack rioters and pledged her support for the eventual winner of the primary. During the town hall, Haley also said, "How are we supposed to get our girls used to the fact that biological boys are in their locker rooms? And then they wonder why a third of our teenage girls seriously contemplated suicide last year." Rex Huppke of USA Today criticized the comment as showing that Haley "doesn't care enough about high rates of suicide among teenage girls to take the matter seriously, and she's more than willing to stigmatize transgender youth, who face even higher rates of suicide." The town hall drew in 562,000 viewers, 83% lower than the one CNN hosted with Trump the previous month, which had 3.3 million viewers.
Haley's campaign made buys of $10 million in New Hampshire and Iowa beginning in December 2023. On December 8, Haley addressed a convention center conference where she stated her campaign had momentum and needed "to have a good showing in Iowa. I don't think that means we have to win, necessarily, but I think that we have to have a good showing."
In the January 15, Iowa caucuses, Haley came in third place with 19 percent of the vote, behind Trump at 51% and DeSantis at 21%. In a Fox & Friends interview, Haley said her campaign was satisfied with its "strong showing" in Iowa after initially having over a dozen competitors and 2 percent support in polling. CNN held a town hall with Haley on January 18. Jake Tapper asked Haley if she believed America had ever been "a racist country" and Haley responded by noting her background and accomplishments and furthered, "I want every brown and Black child to see that and say, 'No, I don't live in a country that was formed on racism. I live in a country where they wanted all people to be equal and to make sure that they have life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." The New Republic called Haley's answer "unclear" and wrote that her "confusing argument is undercut by the fact that she herself acknowledges that not all people were treated equally under the Constitution when it was first written." In the January 23, New Hampshire primary, Trump won with 54 percent of the vote to Haley's 44%. In a speech, Haley signaled she would stay in the race to compete in the South Carolina and Super Tuesday primaries.
On March 3, 2024, Haley scored her first primary victory in the campaign by winning the District of Columbia Republican primary. In doing so, she became the first woman to win a Republican presidential primary, the first Asian-American to win a Republican presidential primary, and the first Indian-American to win either a Republican or Democratic presidential primary.
American Civil War and slavery At a town hall in Berlin, New Hampshire, on December 27, 2023, Haley responded to a question about the origins of the American Civil War, saying, "I mean, I think the cause of the Civil War was basically how government was going to run. The freedoms and what people could and couldn't do." After being criticized that her original response failed to mention slavery, Haley restated her position a day later, saying that "of course the Civil War was about slavery". Haley drew criticism from both Democrats and Republicans, and without evidence she claimed the individual who asked the question was a "Democrat plant". The event was a town hall open to the general public. Haley appeared on the February 3, 2024, episode of Saturday Night Live in which she joked about the controversy.
Fundraising In April 2023, Haley's campaign released its first quarterly fundraising report that is mandated by the Federal Elections Committee. In a campaign memo sent to donors, the campaign claimed it raised $11 million since her February 15 launch. After reviewing the public filings, reporters found that the Haley campaign (and its affiliated organizations and PACs) actually raised $8.3 million, which is $2.7 million less than publicly claimed. Reporters argue that the extra $2.7 million was actually just the same money being transferred from one organization to the other that the campaign was counting as a contribution again, thus "double dipping". In response, Ken Farnaso, Haley's campaign press secretary, said, "We reported $11 million, the sum of entities ..." and mentioned that other candidates "have multiple fundraising vehicles".
A CNBC analysis of the first quarter FEC filings also revealed that the Haley campaign had received donations from notable billionaires and executives, including Harold Hamm, Aryeh Bourkoff, and Jim Davis.