AAHOA SUPPORTS NIKKI HALEY’S CAMPAIGN FOR GOVERNOR OF SOUTH CAROLINA

Late in December 2009, AAHOA endorsed State Representative Nikki Haley as a candidate for governor of South Carolina.  First elected to represent the 87th District in Lexington County in 2004, Rep. Haley was a virtual unknown until she beat the longest serving state legislator in a Republican primary. In 2008, she was re-elected to the statehouse with eighty-three percent (83%) of the vote – the highest percentage earned by any lawmaker facing a contested South Carolina election that year.  That election made her the first Indian American Republican legislator in the United States.

On June 8, 2010, Rep. Haley finished first in South Carolina’s Republican gubernatorial primary with 49 percent of the votes. However, since she did not win more than 50 percent of the votes, Rep. Haley faced second place finisher U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett in a run-off election on June 22, 2010. Rep. Haley beat Barrett by a wide margin in the run-off election, and will run against the winner of the Democratic gubernatorial primary in November 2010.  

Born in Bamberg, S.C., the daughter of Indian immigrants, Rep. Haley’s first job was keeping the books for her family’s clothing store – at the age of 13.  She went on to graduate from Clemson University with a B.S. degree in accounting. Following her graduation, Rep. Haley went back to the family business where she helped oversee its growth into a multi-million dollar operation. Since 2008, she has served as the Assistant Executive Director of the Lexington Medical Foundation.

Asked whether her Indian background will matter in the race for governor, she said "What matters most in South Carolina — and I imagine elsewhere in the country — is not the personalities of the candidates but the message they carry... I am very proud of my background and how I was raised."

Her time in Columbia has been marked by conservative leadership and an unwavering commitment to the taxpayers’ bottom line. Rep. Haley has earned the highest rating in the entire General Assembly from leading pro-taxpayer groups. Rep. Haley was named “Friend of the Taxpayer” (2009) by the S.C. Association of Taxpayers and a “Taxpayer Hero” (2005) by Gov. Mark Sanford for her efforts to cut taxes and slow spending.

Rep. Haley has shown courage in her willingness to take on the political bosses and not back down from a fight. Rep. Haley has received the Palmetto Leadership Award from the S.C. Policy Council for her expertise on policy matters; as well as the Strom Thurmond Excellence in Public Service and Government Award from the S.C. Federation of Republican Women for the outstanding constituent service she provides to her district. She also has lifetime “A” ratings from the South Carolina Club for Growth, and the Palmetto Family Council.