Alex Wong/Getty
Nikki Haley noted that she’s never lost an election after hinting at a possible presidential campaign launch on Thursday.
According to The Post and Courier, the former governor of South Carolina is considering seeking the Republican party’s nomination for president in 2024. She told reporters at a Sioux Center fundraiser in Iowa that she will run “if there’s a place for me.”
“What I’ve always said is, I love this country,” she said, based on reports by the Des Moines Register. “I had the pleasure of serving the state that raised me and defending the country I love so much. And if it looks like there’s a place for me next year, I’ve never lost a race. I’m not going to start now. I’ll put 1,000 percent in and I’ll finish it.”
“If there’s not a place for me,” she added, “I will fight for this country until my last breath.”
RELATED: Nikki Haley Lauds Trump’s Coarse Rhetoric in RNC Speech After Previously Criticizing Him for It
Haley, 50, has made her interest in becoming president clear as she gave a similar statement last week on Fox News’ Faulkner Focus. She told host Harris Faulkner that she will reveal her decision about running early next year.
From January 2017 until her resignation in December 2018, Haley served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under former president Donald Trump.
Trump has not declared any official plans as to whether he will run for president in 2024, with people in his inner circle offering conflicting accounts of the likelihood.
RELATED: Nikki Haley Says She ‘Lets Trump Be Unpredictable’ to Get Her Job Done as UN Ambassador
Evan Vucci/AP/REX/Shutterstock President Donald Trump and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley
The Post and Courier states that Trump’s potential presidential bid will be the deciding factor in Haley’s decision to run. Though she criticized his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capitol, the outlet reports that the two are on good terms. Haley herself has danced around questions about whether she would challenge Trump.
The outlet also reported that Iowa is the place for the GOP to test the viability of their presidential nominees, as the Democratic National Committee has deliberated on bringing the state into the presidential selection process as a more diverse electorate for the primary elections. As of now, Iowa looks to be the GOP’s first presidential primary state in 2024.
Since 2019, Haley has established a presence in the Hawkeye State, where she attended several fundraisers and campaign events in 2021. In June of last year, she headlined the Republican Party of Iowa’s annual Lincoln Dinner in West Des Moines, according to the Post and Courier.
RELATED: Nikki Haley Resigns as United Nations Ambassador
During her recent trip to Iowa, the outlet reported that Haley spoke at events for the Iowa Republican Party and at fundraisers for figures like Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, congressional candidate Zach Nunn and U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks.
The outlet also noted that Haley has endorsed 45 Republican candidates nationwide, appearing in Georgia, Virginia, Texas and early primary state New Hampshire.
