/ CBS News
Three days until the Iowa caucuses
Washington — Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who was being eyed for a possible third-party bid for the White House, endorsed former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley on Sunday.
"It's time for the party to get behind Nikki Haley," Hogan told CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday. "I believe that Nikki Haley's the strongest chance for us to put forth our best possible candidate for November."
Hogan, a moderate Republican who has been critical of former President Donald Trump, announced in March 2023 that he would not seek the party's nomination in 2024.
Months later, Hogan told "Face the Nation" that he had "not closed the door" to running for president on a No Labels ticket. The political organization is seeking to put together a bipartisan, third-party presidential ticket.
Hogan recently stepped down from No Labels' board, fueling speculation that he could be preparing a presidential run.
"Nikki Haley has got all the momentum," Hogan told CNN. "I've been saying since last spring, when I made the decision not to run, that I really did not want to see a multi-car pile up that would just enable Donald Trump. I think we want to have the strongest possible nominee in November. Polls show that that is Nikki Haley, that she's 17 points ahead of Joe Biden, and it's a toss-up with Trump and Biden, and DeSantis is losing [against Biden]."
Hogan's endorsement comes just one day before Republicans in Iowa will hold their caucuses, the first nominating contest on the 2024 season.
A new CBS News poll found GOP voters believe Trump is their best chance to beat President Biden in November, though Haley leads Mr. Biden by a wider margin in a general election match-up.
Cristina Corujo contributed reporting.
Caitlin Yilek is a politics reporter at cbsnews.com and is based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked for the Washington Examiner and The Hill, and was a member of the 2022 Paul Miller Washington Reporting Fellowship with the National Press Foundation.
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