Indian-American Nikki Haley to run for US President, to Take on Donald Trump for 2024 Republican Nomination

WASHINGTON: Former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley on Tuesday kicked off her campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, challenging her former boss Donald Trump, who holds a strong lead in a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.

"It's time for a new generation of leadership," Haley said in a video her team sent out by email as she joined Trump as the only announced 2024 candidate.

Haley, a former South Carolina governor who served as the U.N. ambassador under Trump from 2017 to 2018, is set to lay out her campaign plans in a speech on Wednesday in Charleston, South Carolina.

The daughter of Indian immigrants, Haley, 51, has gained a reputation in the Republican Party as a solid conservative who has the ability to address issues of gender and race in a more credible fashion than many of her peers.

Launching her candidacy more than 20 months ahead of the November 2024 election gives Haley a chance to draw attention before the Republican field grows in the coming weeks and months.

It also makes her an early target of the combative Trump.

"You should know this about me: I don't put up with bullies. And when you kick back it hurts them more if you're wearing heels," Haley said in the video.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday found that 4% of registered Republicans supported Haley, far behind Trump at 43% and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a potential candidate, at 31%.

Other potential candidates include former Vice President Mike Pence, U.S. Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu and former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, among others.

A day after Haley's event, Scott will kick off a "listening tour" in Charleston, according to a campaign advisory. He will then swing through Iowa, another key early voting state.

Taylor Budowich, head of the pro-Trump Make America Great Again group, dismissed Haley's announcement.

"Nikki Haley is just another career politician," he said.

South Carolina is expected to host one of the first Republican nominating primaries in 2024 and will play an important role in picking the eventual candidate.

Many Republican leaders in the state have been looking for alternatives to Trump amid concerns about his electability, according to more than a dozen party officials and strategists.

Several prominent Republicans, including Haley and Scott, skipped a Trump campaign appearance last month in Columbia that was intended to showcase his support in the state.