On Wednesday, the former governor of South Carolina and ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, will deliver a “special announcement” during which she is expected to make her case that she is the best “non-Trump” candidate for president in 2024 — a title most expect to have many claimants. 

As the second major Republican candidate to officially announce her candidacy, Ms. Haley will have her work cut out for her, needing to differentiate herself from both President Trump and Governor DeSantis, who routinely dominate the polls.

A former executive director of the South Carolina GOP, Alex Stroman, told the Sun that he expects her to play up her record as governor.

“She’s actually a good person, with a solid record as both a twice-elected governor who stood up to the Obama-Biden administration and someone who stood up for America on the world stage as UN ambassador,” Mr. Stroman told the Sun.

He is confident Ms. Haley will stand out in what could turn out to be a crowded field once campaigning begins in earnest. Announcing early will help her do so, he said.

“Nikki Haley is exceptional at connecting with voters in an authentic and meaningful way — and I think that once the American people get to really see and know Nikki Haley, she’ll do extremely well on the campaign trail,” Mr. Stroman said.

There are those, however, who have their doubts. A professor of political science at John Jay College, Brian Arbour, says Ms. Haley may soon find herself brushing up against a number of similar shoulders in the race.

“I think she’s going to try to replace DeSantis as the non-Trump establishment conservative in the race and I expect she’ll have lots of competition in that,” he told the Sun.

Mr. Arbour says Ms. Haley and her campaign will be betting that “DeSantis collapses — that he is the Rick Perry of 2024,” and that Ms. Haley will emerge afterward as the next favorite to challenge Mr. Trump.

“In the end there will be two lanes, Trump and not Trump, and there’s going to be lots of jockeying between people for that not-Trump lane,” Mr. Arbour said.

Ms. Haley does have some advantages in the race over Mr. DeSantis because she has operated on the national and world stages and outside of a conservative press environment. Ms. Haley also has an advantage in the South Carolina primary, which has historically been a bellwether state for who will become the GOP’s nominee.

Ms. Haley might also be able to sway evangelical Christians, a key demographic in the Republican primary that does not appear to be loyal to either Mr. Trump or Mr. DeSantis at the moment.

In terms of what to expect on Wednesday, a source familiar with Ms. Haley’s thinking told the Sun that she will “call for a generational change and a renewal of American pride.”

“We’ve seen a generation being taught to hate America, and that’s dangerous,” the source said. “Nikki knows America is the greatest country on Earth. That’s her message, and her personal story is proof of that.”

Ms. Haley, born Nimrata Nikki Randhawa, is the daughter of Indian immigrants who own a successful business selling imported goods, where she worked before entering politics in 2004. In 1996, Ms. Haley married a South Carolina Army National Guard officer, Michael Haley.

She is also expected to speak to education, an issue that has become of increased importance to the Republican Party and its voters in the past few years and a topic that Mr. DeSantis has embraced wholeheartedly.

Tackling education could become a liability for Ms. Haley as the primary progresses, however, because of the weakness of South Carolina’s education system, which routinely ranks among the worst in the country. U.S. News and World Report ranks South Carolina as the 44th best state in terms of education. Florida, for comparison, ranks as the third best.

Despite the long odds Ms. Haley is facing, some of her longtime supporters, like a former South Carolina GOP chairman, Katon Dawson, are confident that she is not being given her due.

“She’s been continuously underestimated and I’m hearing the same things now that I heard running against a 30-year incumbent in the House,” Mr. Dawson told the Sun. 

He said “somebody’s going to have to take votes from Donald Trump” and he thinks Ms. Haley will be the one to do it. He’s also hoping she will be able to bring new voters into the party.

“I’m not looking for sniping and griping. I’m looking for someone looking out the front window, not the back window,” Mr. Dawson said. Ms. Haley is the best-positioned candidate to unite the Republican Party with an electoral victory, something he says is a top priority.

“You’ve got to have someone who is in it for the long run and I’ve talked to Nikki Haley and she is,” Mr. Dawson said. “She’s not running for vice president, she’s running for president.”