Nikki Haley To Drop Out Of US Presidential Race: Report

Former US ambassador Nikki Haley is expected to end her primary bid leaving Donald Trump as the sole Republican candidate for the presidential nomination, local media reported Wednesday. 

She is expected to announce her decision in a speech around 15:00 GMT on Wednesday, from South Carolina state capital Charleston, where she served as governor, the Wall Street Journal and CNN reported citing sources.

The withdrawal from the race comes after the US leader scored a surprising victory over Donald Trump in the Republican primary in the US state of Vermont, her second win in the race for the White House in 2024.

Donald Trump, 77, maintains a lead in every other state, charging towards the Republican nomination. He celebrated an “amazing night” as he closed in on the Republican presidential nomination with easy wins in the Super Tuesday primaries, setting up an all-but-certain rematch with President Joe Biden in November. 

Haley — a favourite of affluent, suburban voters and university graduates — was set to collect only a handful of the delegates needed to secure the nomination.

Former president Trump swept 14 out of 15 states up for grabs on the biggest day of the 2024 race so far, with Haley denying him only in the northeastern state of Vermont as he covets a second term in the Oval Office.

Incumbent Biden also swept the Democratic “Super Tuesday” primaries, although he was effectively uncontested, and the 81-year-old will now turn his attention to his crucial State of the Union speech on Thursday.