Nikki Haley to end presidential campaign, ceding GOP nomination to Trump

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley will drop out of the 2024 presidential race Wednesday after losing every state but one — Vermont — in Super Tuesday’s primary contests, a source familiar with Haley’s plans confirmed to NBC News.

Haley will announce she’s ending her campaign in remarks at 10 a.m., the source said.

Haley’s move cedes the Republican nomination to former President Donald Trump and effectively kicks off the general election, with Trump and President Joe Biden taking unofficial command of their parties early in primary season after a string of victories.

The “ball is in his court,” a source close to the Haley campaign said, referring to the former president.

Haley won’t announce an endorsement Wednesday, two people told NBC News. Instead she will encourage Trump, who is close to having the delegates needed to win the GOP nomination, to earn the support of Republicans and independent voters who backed her, one of the sources said.

NBC News has projected a near-sweep for Trump in Tuesday’s contests, with blowout races in every state except blue Vermont, where Haley won the state’s delegates by a more than 4 percentage point margin with about 96% of the expected votes in.

A hand-picked member of Trump’s Cabinet from 2017 to 2018, Haley was the first major Republican to launch a challenge against the former president in February 2023.

Her campaign had a slow start, but she gained momentum after multiple strong debate performances last summer and fall. Ultimately, her measured criticism of Trump — she said Jan. 6 was a…