Washington, 6 March 2024 (dpa/MIA) - Nikki Haley announced on Wednesday that she is dropping out of the Republican nomination contest for November's presidential election, clearing the way for a renewed bid by Donald Trump.

But Haley, 52, did not endorse Trump in her remarks surrounding her announcement that she is withdrawing from the race.

She said it is now up to the former president to "earn the votes" of Republicans who did not support him.

Haley's decision came one day after she lost nearly every Republican primary contest in the more than one dozen races on Tuesday in the so-called Super Tuesday elections.

She did win Vermont, a small north-eastern state, but voters there traditionally vote Democratic in the general presidential election.

Her decision means the November presidential election will be a rematch of the 2020 one, in which President Joe Biden beat Trump. Current polls have them neck and neck, with Trump posting a slight edge in some.

But US election observers note that there are many months before the November vote and a lot can happen between now and then.

Photo: EPA