U.S. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, and Republican former President Donald Trump are scrambling to win over supporters of Nikki Haley, who could be crucial to sending either man back to the White House.

Haley dropped out of the Republican presidential nomination contest on Wednesday but did not endorse Trump and said it was now up to him to "earn" the support of voters who did not initially back him.

Almost 570,000 voters in three key battleground states — Nevada, North Carolina and Michigan — voted for Haley in the Republican nominating contest, a small but potentially significant group in races that have been decided by tiny margins in recent elections.