Biden to face Trump as Nicky Haley pulls from US electoral race

(Sharecast News) - The race for the US presidency looked set to be a repeat of the 2024 contest between incumbent Joe Biden and the man he defeated, Donald Trump, after the last Republican candidate Nikki Haley ended her challenge and pointedly refused to endorse the controversial businessman.

Haley, the former South Carolina governor who served as Trump's ambassador to the United Nations spoke to reporters near her home in Charleston South Carolina on Wednesday and said the Republican nominee needed to earn the approval of her supporters - many of whom have little time for the former president, currently embroiled in numerous court cases.

"It is now up to Donald Trump to earn the votes of those in our party who did not support him, and I hope he does," she said. "This is now his time for choosing."

Her decision not to throw her weight behind the last remaining candidate are a major departure from the usual Republican conventions, and also deviate from a pledge to the Republican National Committee that she would do so.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com

After a long string of losses to the belligerent Trump, Haley's campaign to become the Republican nominee hit the buffers when she managed to win only one of the 15 states casting ballots in the key contests of the US election calendar.

Voters in Vermont joined those in the tiny electoral district of Washington DC in endorsing her.

Among Trump's prominent primary rivals, Haley was the last candidate left standing, so her withdrawal ensures that Trump will capture the Republican nomination.