On March 5, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley won the Republican presidential primary in Vermont, according to NBC News projections. She was able to beat former President Donald Trump by a narrow margin, securing 49.4% of the vote to his 45.1%, with 100% of precincts reporting.
However, her win in Vermont was not enough to overcome Trump’s dominance in 12 states that held primaries or caucuses on Super Tuesday, earning up to 1,025 of the 1,215 delegates.
Probably realising that, the former governor of South Carolina announced that she is suspending her presidential campaign the following day.
While giving her statement to the press, she didn’t endorse her former rival but challenged him to,
“earn the votes of those in our party and beyond it who did not support him. And I hope he does that. At its best, politics is about bringing people into your cause, not turning them away. And our conservative cause badly needs more people.”
Nikki Haley, who was the only serious challenger to Trump in the Republican race, said that she had no regrets, and that she would continue to use her voice for the causes and the values that she believed in.
“I am filled with the 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. And although I will no longer be a candidate, I will not stop using my voice for the things I believe in.”
Closing her statement, she congratulated the former president and wished him well in his race going forward.
“I congratulate him and wish him well. I wish anyone well who would be America’s president. Our country is too precious to let our differences divide us.”
Haley’s departure leaves Donald Trump as the only remaining candidate in the Republican race, as he seeks to reclaim the White House in 2024. He is expected to face Joe Biden in the general election in November, in what is likely to be a bitter and divisive contest.
