Nikki Haley is dropping out of the 2024 US presidential race today, effectively handing the Republican nomination to Donald Trump.

The former South Carolina governor, who has lagged behind the former president in the campaign and has underperformed in the Super Tuesday vote, is expected to vote on Wednesday at 10 a.m. ET (3 p.m. GMT), according to people familiar with the matter. point) to announce the news. plan.

Ms. Haley is expected to speak in Charleston, South Carolina.

The decision follows Trump’s landslide Super Tuesday victories in 14 states and Ms Haley’s primary victory in Vermont. She received only 43 Republican delegates to Trump’s 764 delegates.

The move would hand the Republican nomination to the former president and effectively launch his presidential campaign, meaning the 77-year-old Trump will face a 2020 reelection against 81-year-old Joe Biden.

A source close to Haley’s campaign told NBC News that “the ball is in his court,” referring to Mr. Trump.

Ms. Haley is not expected to endorse a candidate on Wednesday, sources said, but she may encourage Mr. Trump to win over Republicans and independents who voted for her.

Although early in the campaign she had said she would support the party’s candidate, she declined to reiterate that when asked if she would support Trump, pointing to the 91 criminal charges against Trump, including attempts to overturn the 2020 election results and the mishandling of confidential documents.

Last month, Ms. Haley, the Trump White House’s former ambassador to the United Nations, even called him “unhinged” and “even weaker than before.” She said: “The problem now is that he is no longer the same person. ” 2016. “

“We have to see what it is,” she said. “Here’s the truth: What he’s saying now makes no sense.”

Haley, 52, is expected to say on Wednesday that she will continue to advocate for conservative domestic and foreign policies and warn against the dangers of isolationism.

She vowed to keep campaigning until Super Tuesday and said American voters should have a choice, even though the only primary she won was in Washington, D.C. Even her home state of South Carolina was won by Trump.

“Our goal is always to stay competitive,” she said in an interview on Monday. “As long as we are competitive, we will keep running.”

Late Tuesday, Haley’s campaign pushed back on Trump’s characterization of Republican unity.

Her spokesperson, Olivia Perez-Cubas, said: “Today, in state after state, a large number of Republican primary voters continue to express deep concerns about Donald Trump. This is not the unity our party needs to succeed.”