Nikki Haley Announces 2024 Presidential Bid

Nikki Haley is running for president in 2024, she announced this week.

"The Washington establishment has failed us over and over and over again. It’s time for a new generation of leadership to rediscover fiscal responsibility, secure our border and strengthen our country, our pride and our purpose," Haley said.

Haley previously said she would not run if Donald Trump decided to enter the presidential race. Haley clearly changed her mind. "She called me and said she’d like to consider it. And I said you should do it," Trump told reporters, per Politico. Following Haley's announcement, Trump said he told her "she should follow her heart and do what she wants to do. I wish her luck!"

"When you’re looking at a run for president, you look at two things. 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?'" she told Fox News in January. Answering her own questions, she said, "Yes, we need to go in a new direction. And can I be that leader? Yes. I think I can be that leader."

Haley, 51, was born and raised in South Carolina to Indian immigrant parents. She attended Clemson University, and upon graduation, began working in the private sector before transitioning to civic affairs in the late '90s. She was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 2004, becoming the first Indian American to hold office in South Carolina. In 2010, she was elected governor of South Carolina, and reelected in 2014.

Upon President Donald Trump's election, he appointed Haley U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. She left her position in 2018 to launch a political action committee, Stand for America.

Her husband, Michael Haley, is an officer in the South Carolina Army National Guard. They have two children, Rena and Nalin. The Haley family currently lives in Kiawah Island, South Carolina.

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