Nikki Haley picks up first two Senate endorsements ahead of Super Tuesday

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley received her first two endorsements from senators on Friday, giving her a boost before Super Tuesday as she trails former President Donald Trump in the race for the GOP nomination.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, both backed the former South Carolina governor in separate statements.

“I’m proud to endorse Gov. Nikki Haley,” Murkowski said in a statement released by the Haley campaign. “America needs someone with the right values, vigor, and judgment to serve as our next President — and in this race, there is no one better than her. Nikki will be a strong leader and uphold the ideals of the Republican Party while serving as a President for all Americans.”

Collins told the Bangor Daily News that Haley “has the energy, intellect, and temperament that we need to lead our country in these very tumultuous times.” Haley’s campaign confirmed the endorsement to NBC News.

Voters in Alaska, Maine and more than a dozen other states will cast ballots on Super Tuesday, when 865 Republican delegates will be up for grabs. Haley has yet to win a primary or caucus.

On Friday, Haley expressed her gratitude to Murkowski in a news release announcing her first Senate endorsement, saying that the senator “represents the best of Alaska.”

“As president, I will fight to make Alaskans — and all Americans — proud by restoring fiscal sanity, energy dominance, and limited government,” Haley said.

Murkowski and Collins have long been critical of Trump, and they both voted to convict him during his second impeachment trial following the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Haley has received only one endorsement in the House, from Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C. He announced his endorsement more than a year ago.

Trump, meanwhile, has been endorsed by about 80 Republicans in the House and more than half of GOP senators.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com