Former UN ambassador Nikki Haley said yesterday it was time to move past “stale ideas” and called for a new generation of leaders at the first stop of her campaign for the Republican nomination for US president in 2024.
s Haley is just the second declared candidate seeking the Republican nod to challenge Democratic president Joe Biden in 2024, allowing her to stand out in a so-far uncrowded field but also exposing her to former president Donald Trump’s anger.
The 51-year-old former South Carolina governor declared her candidacy on Tuesday with a video that called for new party leadership – a veiled jab at Mr Trump, who some Republican leaders blame for the party’s disappointing performance in November’s midterm elections.
“We’re ready. Ready to move past the stale ideas and faded names of the past. And we are more than ready for a new generation to lead us into the future,” Ms Haley told a crowd of hundreds at the Charleston Visitors Centre in the historic city’s downtown.
Ms Haley’s supporters at the event agreed with her calls for new leadership in the Republican party. “I think Trump can be very polarising and divisive at times,” said Tim Jansen (54) a Haley supporter from Charleston. “I would like to see a little more tolerance, a little more communication. Flexibility.”
Ms Haley received an endorsement yesterday from prominent South Carolina Republican Ralph Norman, a member of the US House of Representatives’ conservative Freedom Caucus who was a staunch supporter of Mr Trump during his presidency.
“It’s time for a reset and a new chapter in national Republican politics, and there’s no better person to help write that new chapter than our former governor,” Mr Norman wrote on Twitter.
She faces an uphill climb in her bid for the nomination. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday found that just 4pc of registered Republicans supported her.
Mr Trump received support from 43pc of registered Republicans in the poll conducted from February 6 to 13, while 31pc said they supported Florida governor Ron DeSantis, who is expected to launch a campaign but has not yet done so. Ms Haley served as South Carolina’s governor from 2011 through 2017.
She may not be the only South Carolina Republican eyeing the White House. US senator Tim Scott, often considered a presidential contender himself, will kick off a “listening tour focused on Faith in America” in Charleston a day after Ms Haley’s event.
If she wins, Ms Haley would be the first non-white or female Republican presidential nominee.