(WFLA) — Nikki Haley, former governor of South Carolina and U.N. ambassador, has officially announced that she will run for president.
Haley made the announcement online in a video uploaded to social media.
“I’m Nikki Haley, and I’m running for president,” she said.
Born to Indian immigrant parents originally as Nimrata Nikki Randhawa, Haley established her political career first by serving in the South Carolina House of Representatives.
She would later win the election to be the state’s governor in the 2010 election, being the first woman and first minority to hold the position.
Haley got national attention during the aftermath of the massacre at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, in which Dylan Roof murdered nine Black people of the church to start a race war.
After much pressure, Haley took the Confederate flag down from the State Capitol following the mass shooting.
During the Trump presidency, Haley served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and while she supported the former president, she often criticized him and his administration. She also criticized his response to the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection.
She will now face Donald Trump in the Republican primary as they both work to win the Republican nomination.