Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) announced Friday she is endorsing former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley in the GOP presidential primary against former President Trump.

“I’m proud to endorse Gov. Nikki Haley,” Murkowski said in a statement. 

“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,” she continued. “Nikki will be a strong leader and uphold the ideals of the Republican Party while serving as a President for all Americans.”

Murkowski, the first GOP senator to endorse Haley in the race, was among seven Republican senators to vote to convict Trump for his alleged role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Trump, however, was not ultimately convicted in the Senate. 

The former president has called Murkowski a “RINO,” referencing the acronym “Republican in name only,” and claimed “she’s worse than a Democrat,” in endorsing a primary challenger to her during the November 2022 midterms following her vote to convict him. 

However, the Alaskan Republican survived a challenge from the Trump-backed Kelly Tshibaka that election cycle.

Haley said in a statement that she was “grateful” to have the Murkowski’s endorsement.

“Sen. Murkowski represents the best of Alaska,” Haley wrote, adding that “she is a trailblazer and a strong, independent voice who doesn’t bow down to the powers that be in Washington.”

“As president, I will fight to make Alaskans—and all Americans—proud by restoring fiscal sanity, energy dominance, and limited government,” she said.

Murkowski’s endorsement comes just days before Super Tuesday, when Alaska and several other states, plus American Samoa, will cast ballots in the GOP presidential primary. 

Haley faces a steep climb to winning the Republican nomination, as she’s lost every Republican early nominating contest where she’s competed on the same ballot with Trump. 

Yet, Haley has vowed to continue on as she has galvanized an anti-Trump cohort of the GOP.

Updated at 4:40 p.m.