Nikki Haley set to announce 2024 presidential bid

Nikki Haley is expected to announce her 2024 presidential campaign on Feb. 15 in Charleston, South Carolina, according to a person familiar with her plans.

Why it matters: Haley, 51, had said she wouldn’t run against former President Trump. Now she is.

• Haley, the daughter of immigrants from India, recently tweeted: “It’s time for a new generation. It’s time for new leadership.”
• She’ll be the second major candidate to enter the Republican primary after Trump. The news was first reported by the Post and Courier of Charleston.

The big picture: A competition between Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for the MAGA vote could leave room for a more pragmatic candidate who would have a foot in both the Trump and establishment worlds.

• Haley is seeking to fill that role. She was a popular conservative governor of South Carolina who clashed with her party’s establishment — and later became Trump’s UN Ambassador.

By the numbers: A new poll of Republican voters conducted by Whit Ayres for the Bulwark found that Haley was viewed equally favorably by the Trump-first and traditional wings of the party.

• That puts her in stronger shape than other Republican figures that were viewed critically by the Trump wing — including former Vice President Mike Pence.

Between the lines: Trump told reporters on his plane Saturday that Haley had called to tell him that she was planning to run.

• “She called me and said she’d like to consider it, and I said, ‘You should do it,'” Trump said, according to CNN.
• Trump’s more relaxed stance toward Haley suggests he could be saving his firepower for DeSantis.

What to watch: Fundraising will be an early test for Haley. Republican strategists believe there’s room for one pragmatic candidate to consolidate support from party-first Republicans.

• Haley could face competition for the role from rivals like Pence, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.