‘A candidate straight out of 2013’: Nikki Haley ran a pre-Trump campaign in a post-Trump Republican party

Eight candidates appeared on the stage for the first Republican primary debate in August. All had entered the race assuming that Donald Trump could be beaten; that his hold of the party’s base had been – or could be – loosened. They were all wrong.

The only woman in that race would become the last candidate standing for any Republican voter who didn’t want to return to a bombastic showman with 91 criminal counts and a litany of sexual assault allegations to his name.

Nikki Haley dropped out of the presidential race this morning, after she only managed to win Vermont on Super Tuesday. Eleven races were called in favour of Trump, who took the stage at Mar-a-Lago to declare victory.

After making no appearance on Tuesday, Haley spoke in Charleston today.

“Just over a year ago, I launched my campaign for president,” she said. “When I began, I said the campaign was grounded in my love for our country. Just last week, my mother, a first-generation immigrant, got to vote for her daughter for president. Only in America. I am filled with gratitude for the outpouring of support we've received from all across our great country. But the time has now come to suspend my campaign.”

She added that she would still stand up for what she believes in: “Our national debt will eventually crush our economy. A smaller federal government is not only necessary for our freedom; it is necessary for our survival. The road to socialism is the road to ruin for America.”

“Term limits for Washington politicians are needed now more than ever,” Haley also argued. “Our world is on fire because of America's retreat. Standing by our allies in Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan is a moral imperative. But it's also more than that. If we retreat further, there will be