Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski endorse Nikki Haley ahead of Super Tuesday

BOSTON – Four days before the Super Tuesday primaries, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, is backing Nikki Haley, praising her intellect and temperament and calling her "extremely well qualified."

Collins' statement about Haley came as the former South Carolina governor is due to campaign Sunday in Maine, which is one of 15 states that will hold its primary on Super Tuesday.

Collins, who said she had already voted for Haley, joined Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, in backing Haley over former President Donald Trump, the frontrunner.

But Collins will not join Haley on the campaign trail, a spokesperson from her office said. Haley is scheduled to appear at in Portland, Maine's most populous city, on Sunday at 7 p.m. as part of a pre-Super Tuesday sprint through pivotal primary states.

Collins had previously declined to endorse a candidate in the 2024 GOP presidential primary, but ruled out voting for the ex-president in January.

Haley said on Saturday that she was "super excited" to receive endorsements from the two senators, calling them "two strong, very courageous women."

Murkowski, who is known for crossing the aisle, perhaps most notably in 2018 when she opposed Trump’s nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, called Haley a "strong leader" who will "uphold the ideals of the Republican Party while serving as a President for all Americans" in her endorsement on Friday.

“America needs someone with the right values, vigor, and judgment to serve as our next President—and in this race, there is no one better than her,” Murkowski, who voted to convict Trump of inciting an insurrection during a 2021 impeachment trial, said.

Murkowski and Collins are the first U.S. Senators, and some of the only members of Congress, to express support for Haley. More than 30 Republican U.S. Senators, including Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, have backed Trump in the presidential primary. But Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C. is the only other member of Congress who has endorsed Haley.

Maine and Alaska are among the 15 states set to hold their presidential primaries on the date known as Super Tuesday, March 5, when 865 delegates are up for grabs in the Republican nominating contest.

Haley is counting on significant wins on Tuesday to keep her presidential hopes alive. So far, the former ambassador to the United Nations has lost to Trump in every major contest, including most recently in her home state of South Carolina.

But the odds of her eking out a victory in any of the races, including in states like Maine and Alaska, appear grim. The latest Republican primary poll in Maine, conducted by the University of New Hampshire in mid-February, found Trump leading Haley by over 60 points in the state, 77%-19%. Polls conducted in Alaska similarly show Trump with double digit margins over Haley.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Susan Collins endorses Haley calling her 'extremely well qualified'