Nikki Haley (R)

South Carolina Governor (since January 2011)

(Getty Images)

Why She Matters

Overcoming a sex scandal, racial slurs and estrangement from the local GOP establishment, Haley won the Republican nomination for South Carolina governor in June 2010. She became the state's first female and first minority governor after beating state Sen. Vincent Sheheen (D) in the November general election.

The daughter of Indian immigrants, Haley has been hailed as the new face of the Republican party and the "post-racial" South, though she has endured skepticism about her religion and Southerness. She has enjoyed the support of friends in high places, most notably governor-turned-tea-party-queen Sarah Palin who endorsed Haley and defended her when scandal broke.

Haley’s name has been mentioned as a possible candidate for vice president in the 2012 election but she has stated that she has no interest in the job. And The Fix’s Aaron Blake points out that the ship may have already sailed on a V.P. offer due to some succession issues in South Carolina.

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Corrections?

News From Around The Web

SC Gov. Nikki Haley urges Senate to pass ethics reform via The State

Nikki Haley: Ethics Reform Hypocrite via FITSNews

More Nikki Haley “Transparency” via FITSNews

Nikki Haley’s Friendly Skies … Again via FITSNews

Nikki Haley Blasts Lee Bright via FITSNews

Post Politics

Nikki Haley to appear at Mark Sanford fundraiser

Rachel Weiner

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is appearing at a fundraiser for her predecessor and former mentor -- embattled House candidate Mark Sanford.

Post Politics

Mark Sanford sworn in

Rachel Weiner

His fiancee, Maria Belen Chapur, attended the ceremony.

Post Politics

Vincent Sheheen to run against Nikki Haley again

Rachel Weiner

Haley beat Sheheen by about five points in 2010, in a state Obama lost two years later by ten points.

Post Politics

Mark Sanford wins South Carolina special election

Rachel Weiner

Mark Sanford has won the South Carolina special election in a nail-biting race for what in normal circumstances is a safe Republican seat.

News From Around The Web

Nikki Haley’s “Good Ol’ Boy” via FITSNews

Nikki Haley in Tight Re-election Battle via Newsmax

Why ethics reform now? via The State

Political rivals work to pass government overhaul via San Francisco Chronicle

SC Legislature: 3 final weeks, 2 key issues, 1 race in ’14 via The State

The Fix

Elizabeth Colbert Busch's big-time financial advantage, in two charts

(Rainier Ehrhardt / AP)

Sean Sullivan

Outside group spending has favored the Democrat by more than 5-1.

Post Politics

Lindsey Graham vouches for Mark Sanford

Sean Sullivan

The Palmetto State senator took to Twitter Wednesday to voice support for Sanford.

Post Politics

Nikki Haley's husband departs for Afghan mission

(Rainier Ehrhardt / AP)

Natalie Jennings

It is Capt. Michael Haley's first deployment.

At a Glance

Career History: South Carolina Representative (2004-2011); CFO, Exotica International (1996-2004); accounting supervisor, FCR Inc. (1994-1996)
Birthday: January 20, 1972
Hometown: Bamberg, S.C.
Alma Mater: Clemson University, B.S., 1994
Spouse: Michael

Religion: Methodist
Campaign Office: Lexington, SC, (803) 834-7065
Email
Web site

Path to Power

Born Nimrata Nikki Randhawa, Haley grew up in Bamberg, S.C. where her Sikh parents (a biology professor and entrepreneur) were the first Indian immigrants the small town had ever seen.

Growing up in such an environment was sometimes difficult. She has described her family's effort to blend in as "survival mode." "You learn to try and show people how you're more alike than you are different," she said.

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Years before she received her degree in accounting from Clemson University, Haley worked for her mother's clothing shop; she started keeping the books at age 13. After graduating from Clemson, Haley worked as an accountant for North Carolina-based waste- management firm FCR before returning to her mother's upscale clothing line, Exotica International. She served as chief financial officer and helped it become a multi-million dollar business.

Political Debut

Haley joined the political sphere in 2004 when she defeated veteran state Rep. Larry Koon (R) in a district undergoing demographic changes. She was reelected in 2006, and again with a resounding 83 percent of the vote in 2008.

While in the South Carolina legislature, Haley pushed for smaller government, transparency and restrained spending. She was known for alienating colleagues in the legislature in her persuit of greater transparency.

2010 Governor's Race

In May 2009, Haley joined the race for governor as the only woman competing against three more prominent Republicans. She stayed in last place for almost a year before climbing in the polls. GOP politicos attributed her rise to her message of reform and charismatic campaign style. Haley was also buoyed by the May 2010 endorsement of unofficial Tea Party spokeswoman Sarah Palin.

Before coming out on top, Haley battled harsh personal criticism - questions about her religion, racist slurs and accusations of extra-marrital affairs. Her religious beliefs became an issue, with opponents questioning her Christianity, because she was raised in the Sikh faith. The contest made national headlines when state Sen. Jake Knotts called President Obama and Haley "ragheads" on an Internet radio show.

Affair Allegations

At times, Haley put South Carolina's Republican primary in the national spotlight as much for the scandals swirling around her as for the ground-breaking nature of her campaign. A year after the sensational sex-scandal of Gov. Mark Sanford rocked the state (the missing governor, supposedly hiking the Appalachian Trail, turned out to be visiting a mistress in Argentina whom he called "my soul mate"), Haley had to battle a sex scandal of her own: two men connected to the South Carolina GOP claimed to have had trysts with the candidate.

One allegation came from conservative blogger and former Mark Sanford spokesman Will Folks, and another came from lobbyist Larry Marchant, a former campaign advisor for Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, one of Haley's opponents in the Republican primary. Haley categorically denied the charges, and the scandals seemed to do little to hurt her popularity.

In the June 8 primary, Haley finished well ahead all three of her rivals, but with only 49 percent of the vote, she did not win the party's nomination outright.

In the June 22 runoff, Haley delivered a decisive 65 to 35 percent win over runnerup Rep. Gresham Barrett (R-S.C.). Though Democrats are confident in their candidate, they admit that he is the underdog in this red state.

The Issues

Like the disgraced outgoing Gov. Mark Sanford, Haley espouses more hardline conservative ideas than most members of the state GOP.

She supports smaller government, lower taxes and restrained public spending. An accountant by profession, she has promised to eliminate excess spending from the state budget and has plans for tax reform.

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The Network

Haley has long been the protege of outgoing Gov. Sanford, who encouraged her to run for governor in early 2009. That support helped Haley get the fundraising ball rolling - until his sex-scandal broke, and the funding dried up. More recently, Haley also gained the support of the governor's ex-wife, Jenny Sanford, who celebrated Haley "break[ing] the glass ceiling in our state."

But more signficantly, Haley's anti-establishment credentials helped catch the attention of Sarah Palin, who swooped in, less than a month before the primary, to endorse Haley, sending her poll numbers through the roof. Palin also warned Haley about the attacks she might face, and defended her when the sex scandals broke.

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