Republican senator who voted to convict Donald Trump endorses Nikki Haley

One of the seven Republican senators who voted to convict Donald Trump for inciting a riot at the US Capitol on January 6 endorsed Nikki Haley’s bid for president.

Lisa Murkowski, the senior senator from Alaska, announced her support for the former governor of South Carolina and US ambassador to the United Nations.

“America needs someone with the right values, vigor, and judgment to serve as our next President—and in this race, there is no one better than her,” Ms Murkowski said in a statement. “Nikki will be a strong leader and uphold the ideals of the Republican Party while serving as a President for all Americans.”

Murkowski is one of only four Republicans left in the Senate who voted to convict Mr Trump after three of them resigned. Utah Senator Mitt Romney, whom Ms Haley supported in the 2012 Republican presidential primary, will retire at the end of the year.

The endorsement comes even though Ms Haley has failed to win a single primary contest. So far, only one member of the US House of Representatives — Representative Ralph Norman of South Carolina — has endorsed her run.

Ms Haley thanked Ms Murkowski for the endorsement.

“Murkowski represents the best of Alaska—she is a trailblazer and a strong, independent voice who doesn’t bow down to the powers that be in Washington,” Ms Haley said in a statement. “As president, I will fight to make Alaskans—and all Americans—proud by restoring fiscal sanity, energy dominance, and limited government.”

Ms Murkwoski has broken with her party on multiple occasions, including on abortion rights. She also voted against Senate Republicans and Mr Trump’s efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare.

After her vote to convict Mr Trump, the one-term