Charleston, S.C. (CN) — Nikki Haley announced Wednesday she would suspend her campaign in the Republican presidential primary, setting up a likely rematch between Donald Trump and Joe Biden in November’s general election.
Strong debate performances and a well-funded campaign helped Haley outlast her rivals to create a two-person race with the former president ahead of the New Hampshire primary. But her campaign failed to catch fire with the conservative voters who have fueled Trump’s rise in the Republican Party.
Haley declined to endorse Trump's candidacy in her concession speech Wednesday.
"I have always been a conservative Republican and always supported the Republican nominee," she said. "But on this question, as she did on so many others, Margaret Thatcher provided some good advice when she said: 'never just follow the crowd. Always make up your own mind.'"
Haley earned a respectable share of the votes in New Hampshire and South Carolina, about 43% and 40% respectively, but still lost the contests by double digits. The defeat in South Carolina, where Haley was twice elected as governor, was particularly tough. The state’s top elected officials lined up to back the former president’s campaign and Haley ultimately only bested Trump in three of the state’s 46 counties.
Haley remained defiant, however. The one-time U.N. ambassador in Trump’s cabinet lashed her former boss as a chaos agent who, like Biden, was too old for the country’s top job.
“I feel no need to kiss the ring,” Haley told supporters days before the South Carolina primary.
Haley secured her first primary win in the District of Columbia on Sunday, but Super Tuesday was a rout. She lost in 15 of the 16 primary states, including delegate-rich Texas and California. The only contest she won was in Vermont.
Several candidates who withdrew from the race, including South Carolina Senator Tim Scott and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, threw their support behind Trump before joining him on the campaign trail.
Haley was once rumored as a vice presidential pick for Trump, but attention has since turned to Scott, who the former president has praised for his enthusiastic support in South Carolina.
Haley suggested Wednesday she had no interest in the position.
"I sought the honor of being your president," she said. "But in our great country, being a private citizen is privilege enough in itself, and that's a privilege I very much look forward to enjoying."
The Republican National Committee issued a statement after Haley's speech calling Trump the presumptive nominee. Ronna McDaniel, the committee's chairwoman, congratulated Haley for her "hard-fought campaign."
The chairwoman said Republicans were "more united than ever" ahead of the general election, but questions remain over whether Haley's supporters would back the former president.
Haley said it was Trump's responsibility to win over skeptics.
"At its best, politics is about bringing people into your cause — not turning them away," she said. "And our conservative cause badly needs more people."
The battle to win those voters began minutes after Haley's announcement.
Biden applauded Haley in a statement for having the courage to "speak the truth about Trump" before making a pitch to her voters.
"Donald Trump made it clear he doesn't want Nikki Haley's supporters," he said in a statement. "I want to be clear: There is a place for them in my campaign."
Meanwhile, Trump mocked his former rival on social media for being "trounced" in Tuesday's primaries, before calling on her supporters to "join the greatest movement in the history of our nation."
Trump has secured 995 delegates — just shy of the 1,215 needed to win the nomination.
The Republican National Convention begins July 15 in Milwaukee.
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