Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley will reportedly launch a bid for the 2024 presidential nomination for the Republican Party.
The Post and Courier reported Tuesday that a “member of Haley’s inner circle” confirmed she plans to run for president and will formally announce her campaign on February 15.
Haley will soon send an invitation to potential backers advertising a “special announcement” on that date at The Shed at the Charleston Visitor Center.
Republicans have long speculated that Haley would announce a presidential bid.
“It’s time for a new generation. It’s time for new leadership,” she tweeted on January 20. “And it’s time to take our country back. America is worth the fight — and we’re just getting started.”
Haley was asked about a presidential run by Sean Hannity on Fox News but declined to give a direct answer.
“We are leaning in,” she said. “We cannot have another term of Joe Biden.”
Last week, Haley was interviewed on Fox News by Bret Baier, who asked her if she was going to run.
“When you’re looking at a run for president, you look at two things,” she said. “You first look at: Does the current situation push for new leadership? The second question is: Am I that person that could be that new leader?”
“Yes, we need to go in a new direction,” she continued. “And can I be that leader? Yes. I think I can be that leader.”
Haley, who previously served as President Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations, said in 2021 that she would not challenge the former president if he ran in 2024.
“I would not run if President Trump ran, and I would talk to him about it,” she said. “That’s something that we will have a conversation about at some point.”
However, in late November of last year — after Trump announced his 2024 candidacy — Haley said she would take the holiday season to consider a presidential run.
“We are taking the holidays to kind of look at what the situation is,” she said. “I have said I’ve never lost a race; I’m not going to start now. If we decide to get into it, we will put in 1,000%, and we’ll finish it.”
Roger Shafer, advisory chairman for the Dallas Young Republicans, told The Dallas Express he is “skeptical of any candidate who prioritizes needless foreign involvement over the major concerns of our citizens.”
“She’ll have a difficult time convincing GOP voters she deserves their support,” he added. “Ultimately, I expect her entrance in the primary to be as uneventful as her exit.”