Prominent Indian-American politician Nikki Haley announces US Presidential bid

Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, has announced that she will make a bid for the White House, becoming the first Republican to challenge former President Donald Trump for the party’s nomination.

Haley, who served under Trump, made the announcement in a video posted online, in which she declared that it’s time for a new generation of leadership.

The daughter of Indian immigrants, Haley was born in Bamberg, South Carolina, and would go on to become the state’s first female governor and the first Indian-American to lead the state. If she wins the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, she would make history again as the first woman and first Asian-American at the top of the GOP ticket.

Haley is set to deliver a speech to supporters announcing her run in Charleston, South Carolina today, and then travel to New Hampshire and Iowa, the first states on the presidential primary calendar, in the days after. Haley has consistently polled third or fourth behind Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, another expected candidate, in early polls on the 2024 GOP presidential primary.