CORRECTS - Nikki Haley to suspend US presidential campaign, clearing way for Trump's Republican candidacy

CLARIFIES TO 15 STATES AND 1 US TERRITORY IN PARAGRAPH 4

By Dilara Hamit

Nikki Haley, the last contender standing to beat Donald Trump for the Republican presidential candidacy this fall, plans to suspend her campaign following double-digit defeats in Super Tuesday primary contests, said press reports.

Haley is planning to suspend her candidacy with a speech Wednesday morning US time, said The Wall Street Journal, citing sources familiar with the plan.

Haley’s withdrawal virtually ensures that former President Trump will stand as the Republican candidate against Democratic President Joe Biden in the elections this Nov. 5 – a mirror image of the 2020 presidential race.

On Super Tuesday, Haley appears to have won only a single contest in the 15 states and one US territory choosing the Republican candidate – a bruising showing.

Altogether, Trump has garnered nearly 75% of the 1,215 delegates needed to receive the Republican presidential nomination.

On the Democratic side, following Super Tuesday Biden has accumulated nearly one-third of the 1,968 delegates needed to secure the Democratic presidential nomination.

Haley, a former South Carolina governor and US ambassador to the UN, earlier this week became the first woman to ever win a Republican presidential primary or caucus, beating Trump in Washington, DC, a notably liberal area.

Trump has beaten Haley in nearly every contest, starting with the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary, and also won the primary in Haley's home state of South Carolina.

As a former president extremely popular with the Republican base, Trump competed in the primaries with the strength of a virtual incumbent.

Before Haley’s exit, Trump easily swept aside a large field of competitors, most of them trying to claim the title of his heir, with only a handful willing to criticize the controversial leader, who faces multiple criminal indictments.