SC’s first female governor now a national figure
Six years ago, Nikki Haley was young, relatively unknown Lexington County lawmaker who was polling last for the 2010 Republican gubernatorial primary.
A visit by former GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin sparked Haley’s campaign that led to an upset primary win — and began a two-term stint as South Carolina’s first female governor.
As soon as she took office, Haley, the daughter of Indian immigrants, was dubbed the face of a new South and a rising star in the national Republican Party.
She made attracting jobs the cornerstone of her administration, bragging about how she shared her personal cellphone number to economic development prospects. Haley also worked with lawmakers successfully to get more power under her authority, including state building and personnel operations.
But the nation’s youngest governor did not shy away from criticizing the Republican-dominated Legislature for not backing her efforts to revamp ethics laws and plans to pay for road repairs.
Haley became a national figure again this summer with her successful call to remove the Confederate battle flag from the S.C. State House grounds after a pastor and eight parishioners were killed at a historic African-American church in Charleston. She also took center stage during in the aftermath of the record flooding in South Carolina after a massive rain storm in October.
Haley, whose political career was jump started by a VP nominee, has been discussed as a possible vice presidential nominee herself next year.
