Nikki Haley expected to announce presidential run in Charleston on February 15

By Kate Sullivan and Kylie Atwood, CNN

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is expected to announce she’s running for president on February 15 in Charleston, according to a person familiar with her plans.

Haley would be the first Republican to jump into the 2024 presidential race this year, facing only former President Donald Trump, who launched his bid last year, as her competition out of the gates.

She has sent invitations to her supporters announcing the special event, per a copy obtained by CNN. The precise details of her launch have yet to be revealed. One source said they believed she could publicly signal the announcement is coming with video in the coming days, but that possibility isn’t set in stone.

A spokesperson for Haley did not immediately provide details about the plans.

The Post and Courier was first to report the date and location of the expected announcement, and The Washington Post was first to report details of Haley’s preparations.

“Ever since she left the governor’s office for the United Nation, there’s always been a sense in South Carolina that Nikki would be preparing for a much larger launch,” Dave Wilson, the president of the Christian nonprofit Palmetto Family Council, told CNN. “Now we’re in a presidential countdown window. Everyone had better buckle up.”

Haley gave her clearest indication yet that she plans to seek the Republican presidential nomination during an interview earlier this year.

“When you’re looking at a run for president, you look at two things: You first look at, does the current situation push for new leadership? The second question is, am I that person that could be that new leader?” she told Fox News.

“Yes, we need to go in a new direction,” Haley said. “And can I be that leader? Yes, I think I can be that leader.”

Haley, who served as the US ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration, also called Trump recently to tell him that she was considering launching her campaign, the former president told reporters over the weekend.

“She called me and said she’d like to consider it, and I said, ‘You should do it,'” Trump said in recalling the conversation.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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