• Follow the Super Tuesday results as they happen in our live blog

Nikki Haley is unlikely to imminently drop out of the Republican primary race despite suffering a string of heavy defeats on Super Tuesday, sources close to her have suggested.

The 52-year-old challenger to Donald Trump lost the first 10 states to declare on the most consequential night of the GOP primary contest.

In anticipation of a difficult night, the Haley campaign decided against hosting an event for her supporters, as it has on previous results nights.

Instead, Ms Haley has chosen to stay close to home, watching the results trickle in from the Charleston area of South Carolina.

Sources within the Haley camp signalled that the decision means she was unlikely to make any major announcements about the future of her presidential bid on Tuesday night.

One insider suggested Ms Haley will want to look carefully at the full results, particularly the margins in the key states she was targeting, before she addresses her supporters.

The source said it was extremely unlikely Ms Haley would want to make a big announcement from her home, or via an interview on cable TV.

Earlier, the Haley campaign had described the team as  a “bunch of happy warriors today”, who have been “playing music and having fun”.

But they did not respond to a request to discuss the former South Carolina governor’s plans for the rest of the night.

Ms Haley has long been esteemed for her shrewd political instincts. Those who know her best suggested she would carefully weigh her options before making any public proclamation.

Meanwhile, Mr Trump’s representatives have been deployed throughout the media pen at his victory party in Mar-a-Lago, Florida.

One of Mr Trump’s most senior advisers, Chris LaCivita, said the campaign was confident that “there’s no path forward for Nikki Haley.”

Kevin McCarthy, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, has said that Nikki Haley’s campaign will “come to a close” after tonight’s results, but said she had a “bright future” in the Republican Party.

“Probably her campaign is going to come to a close, but it’s not the clothes for Nikki Haley,” he told Fox News. “She did a tremendous campaign, she is still standing. She’s been getting 30 in most places, so that means she has a big voice in this party.”

He added: “Nikki Haley has a bright future, because either one of the two men who are up for the nomination this time to win, can only serve one term. So I think she has a very bright future and I would hope she’d be part of the future administration.”