After a string of losses on Super Tuesday, Nikki Haley has confirmed that she will be exiting the 2024 Republican primaries, urging her supporters to instead unite behind former President Donald Trump. With his last remaining competitor out of the running, the Republican National Committee has released a statement naming Trump the presumptive nominee for the November elections.

Headed for a second round of the Trump versus Biden showdown that began in 2020, the US is gearing up for a tense election season in autumn.

Haley, a 52-year-old former governor from South Carolina, appealed to voters as a younger alternative to Trump, who will be turning 78 this June. However, despite the former president’s four ongoing criminal cases, Haley failed to wrangle Republican votes, losing all but one of the primary contests on Super Tuesday.

With a win in Vermont, Haley denied Trump a full sweep across the Republican boards. Biden was also one short of a blow-out, losing to Jason Palmer in American Samoa’s Democratic caucus.

After serving as a United Nations ambassador for nearly two years under the Trump administration, the former president referred to Haley as a “very special” person upon her resignation. However, animosity sparked between the two conservatives as they fought for the title of Republican nominee.

Using Haley’s Indian heritage to fuel racist attacks, Trump amplified false claims about the South Carolina native’s eligibility for the White House. In response, Haley labelled the former president as “unhinged,” arguing that he is too divisive and chaotic to be effective in office.

Haley’s departure marks the beginning of a 2024 rematch between President Biden and former President Trump, their intense rivalry continuing to dominate American politics as it has for the past eight years.