Trump Has His First Official GOP Challenger

Nikki Haley is in. The former governor of South Carolina and UN ambassador formally launched her 2024 campaign for president on Tuesday, reports the AP. "Time for a new generation," the 51-year-old tweeted. The message accompanies a video in which Haley strikes an upbeat tone, reports the Hill. "I was the proud daughter of Indian immigrants—not Black, not white," she says. "I was different." With her entry into the race, Haley becomes the first GOP candidate to challenge former President Trump, who launched his own campaign in November. Haley would be the first woman and the first Asian American to lead the Republican ticket should she win the nomination, notes the Washington Post.

The Post notes that Haley had previously said she would not run against Trump, in whose Cabinet she served, but reversed course on that in recent months. The shift might actually help Trump. A recent Yahoo News/YouGov poll suggested that even one additional candidate beyond Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (who has yet to formally announce) could split the anti-Trump vote within the GOP and make Trump's path to the nomination easier, per the Guardian. Haley is expected to be the only female candidate in the Republican field, per Axios. While she hails from a key primary state, Sen. Tim Scott, also from South Carolina, is widely expected to launch his own campaign soon. (More Nikki Haley stories.)