Photo: Xinhua/Li Muzi
GREENVILLE, United States, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and former governor of South Carolina, said Tuesday she is not dropping out of the race.
"When the future of the country is at stake, you don't back down. You keep fighting. In fact, you fight harder than ever. That's why I refuse to quit," Nikki Haley said in a speech she gave at Clemson University's Greenville ONE.
Haley said this in a "state of the race" speech in Greenville, South Carolina, just days before the Republican primary in that southeastern state, where she served as the first woman governor from 2011-2017.
"South Carolina will vote on Saturday. But I'll still be running for president on Sunday. I'm not going anywhere," she added.
Haley, who is trying to challenge former President Donald Trump on his home turf, said the presidential primary has barely begun, with voting underway in just three states.
Trump won the GOP primaries in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada, cementing his position as the clear favorite to be the GOP presidential nominee.
"It's not much. Ten days after South Carolina, 21 other states and territories will vote," Haley said, looking ahead to Super Tuesday, March 5, when several states will hold presidential primaries.
The Republican presidential nominee accused President Joe Biden and Trump of pitting people against each other and dividing the country at a time "when America desperately, urgently needs a unifier."
"Congress is too divided and broken to do its job. Families don't even talk to each other at the dinner table," she said. "These are dangerous times."
"I am running for president to restore a country that is strong and proud. That's why I will remain in the race after the South Carolina vote," she added.
Xinhua/gnews.cz-JaV_07
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