Vanquished Indian-American Republican Presidential candidate Nikki Haley has vowed to continue to fight Donald Trump in his bid to retake the White House, saying the American voters should have the right to a real choice, not a "Soviet-style election" with only one candidate.
Trump secured a resounding win over Haley in her home state on Saturday in South Carolina in the Republican primary, enabling the 77-year-old former US president to move closer to clinching a third presidential nomination from his party in 2024.
Refusing to give up, Haley, 52, a two-time former governor of South Carolina vowed to take the fight to the Super Tuesday states on March 5 when Republican primaries are scheduled to be held in 21 US states.
"I'm a woman of my word. I'm not giving up this fight when a majority of Americans disapprove of both Trump and Biden," Haley, a two-time former governor of South Carolina told her supporters.
In the next 10 days, 21 states and territories will speak. They have the right to a real choice, not a Soviet-style election with only one candidate. And I have a duty to give them that choice," she posted on X.
Haley congratulated Trump on his victory but pointed to her performance as proof that Republican voters want an alternative.
"I'm an accountant. I know 40 per cent is not 50 per cent. But I also know 40 per cent is not some tiny group, Haley said.
"There are huge numbers of voters in our Republican primaries who are saying they want an alternative," she said.
Haley also said she did not believe that Trump would be able to beat incumbent President Joe Biden, a Democrat, in a general election in November 2024.
"What I saw today was South Carolina's frustration with the state of our nation, she noted. She said the United States cannot stand four more years of Biden's failures nor Trump's lack of focus.
Haley thanked South Carolina voters for showing up and remarked she was heading to Michigan on Sunday, intending to campaign for Super Tuesday on March 5.
If elected, Haley would be the first-ever woman and first-ever Indian-American president of the United States.
Haley was born Nimarata Nikki Randhawa in South Carolina to immigrant Sikh parents from Amritsar, Punjab.