Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley has applied for Secret Service protection due to increased threats she received during her campaign, Haley’s team confirmed to Fox News on Monday.
The two-term South Carolina governor who later served as U.N. ambassador in former President Donald Trump’s administration is Trump’s last remaining major rival for the 2024 Republican nomination.
Haley spoke about the protection request in an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Monday afternoon.
“We had multiple problems,” the former South Carolina governor and U.N. ambassador said after a campaign event in Aiken, South Carolina. “I’m not going to let that stop me from doing what I need to do.”
Haley was asked about increased security levels at the event at a press conference in Columbia, South Carolina, late last week.
“I get threats when I do something like this,” she told reporters. “That’s just the reality.”
Haley cited the need to “put a few more bodies around us,” but said it has not affected her campaign.
“At the end of the day, we’re going to be out there doing everything we can, answering every question, being there ourselves and doing everything that needs to be done,” she added.
Hours after Haley spoke to reporters, hecklers were removed from her campaign event in Hilton Head, South Carolina.
Once very close to winning the nomination, Haley gained momentum in the polls in late summer and early fall, thanks in part to strong performances in the first three Republican presidential primary debates.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis withdrew from the race last month two days before the New Hampshire primary on January 23, leaving the nomination contest between Haley and Trump, who has been the front-runner for the third consecutive year. It will be a showdown between the two candidates. For the White House.
Haley won 43% of the vote in New Hampshire, giving her an 11-point lead over Trump.
The next major issue for Republicans is Haley’s home state, where the Republican primary will be held on February 24th. The latest polls show the former president holding a large double-digit lead over Haley.
