Nikki Haley ends US presidential election campaign

Republican former UN ambassador Nikki Haley suspended her White House campaign Wednesday, declining to endorse former president Donald Trump but calling on him to earn the support of moderates and independents who backed her in the primary.

"It is now up to Donald Trump to earn the votes of those in our party and beyond it who did not support him, and I hope he does that," Haley said in a televised address in Charleston, South Carolina.

Haley was in a two-person contest with Trump for the chance to face President Joe Biden in November's election but won just one state on "Super Tuesday" and never presented a serious obstacle in Trump's path to the nomination.

The 52-year-old was little known outside her native South Carolina before Trump tapped her as ambassador to the United Nations back in 2017 and used the high-profile UN post to cultivate an image as a plain-speaking conservative.

As UN envoy, Haley -- who previously served for six years as South Carolina's governor -- was known for speaking her mind, often in undiplomatic language.

She was the face of the White House to the world on everything from North Korean denuclearization to the war in Syria.

She prided herself on being the last challenger standing between the "chaos" of Trump and the 2024 Republican White House nomination.

"I am filled with the gratitude for the outpouring of support we've received from all across our great country," Haley added.

"But the time has now come to suspend my campaign. I said I wanted Americans to have their voices heard -- I have done that. I have no regrets."

Other Republicans with ambitions for the highest American office have largely bowed down to Trump and his capture of the party, wary of the businessman's hardcore, far-right base.

Haley meanwhile ran a campaign that criticized the "ranting, raving and chaos" of the twice-impeached, criminally indicted Trump, urging voters that it was "time for a new generation of leadership."

Her sustained campaign raised questions for the upcoming general election, where the ex-president will almost certainly face off with Joe Biden.

While Trump is backed by a passionate core of supporters ready to ignore his attack on the 2020 election and four ongoing criminal cases, it remains to be seen whether middle-of-the-road Republicans who favored Haley will commit to Trump in November.