Indian-American candidate Nikki Haley on Wednesday announced she is ending her presidential campaign, clearing the way for a rematch between US President Joe Biden and his Republican predecessor Donald Trump.
"I am filled with gratitude for the outpouring of support we've received from all across our great country. But the time has now come to suspend my campaign. I said I wanted Americans to have their voices heard. I have done that. I have no regrets," Nikki Haley announced in South Carolina, according to CNN.
Haley's exit leaves former US President Donald Trump as the only contestant in the Republican primary, who will then face Democrat President Joe Biden in the presidential elections, scheduled in November.
Haley also congratulated Trump who will be the sole Republican presidential nominee. However, she stopped short of endorsing him.
Both Trump and Haley were campaigning vigorously in various Super Tuesday states, making a last-minute pitch to the Republican voters.
However, as per national polls, former president Trump was leading by more than 60 percentage points on average in various national polls, as per RealClearPolitics. No political pundit was giving Haley, 51, any chance against Trump, the most popular politician in the Republican party in recent times.
Despite facing scores of legal battles and embarrassing indictments, Trump is attracting thousands of Republicans to his rallies, while the numbers at Haley's events are far less.
To win the presidential nomination of the Republican party, either of the two candidates needed 1,215 delegates, who are elected during the primaries. So far, Trump already had 244 delegates in his kitty, while Haley’s strength stood at 43, as per PTI.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who dropped from the presidential race earlier, has nine delegates, and Indian American entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has three.
No Decisions Made On Supporting Trump: Haley
Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor, said she has not made a final decision whether she would endorse her ex-boss Trump if she ends her presidential bid, but her campaign is receiving a lot of feedback on the subject, PTI quoted CNN as saying.
People who are close to Haley have different opinions.
While some believe it would be good for her to back Trump because she would be viewed as a team player, others oppose her endorsing him because that would give Haley the freedom to be critical of Trump and build her own movement.
Haley herself recently said she is not focused on endorsing anyone because she is focused on winning herself. Trump, however, in an interview on Tuesday bashed Haley, saying she was angry because her campaign is “just getting nowhere."