Who is Nikki Haley? The only Republican challenging Trump for the presidency

On February 14th, Nikki Haley announced that she was running for the 2024 Republican Party presidential nomination and became the first major challenger to Donald Trump’s control of the GOP. 

To many, Nikki Haley represents the savior of the post-Trump GOP era while others see her as just another politically ambitious Republican that will bring back the former president's policies without the daily drama. But who is Nikki Haley really? Let’s find out.

Nimrata Nikki Haley was born in Bamberg, South Carolina, and is the daughter of immigrant Indian and Punjab Sikh parents, Ajit Singh Randhawa and Raj Kaur Randhawa. 

Haley was a precocious child and at the age of 12 she began helping her mother do the bookkeeping at the family clothing shop according to The Economist, an upbringing the magazine said “bequeathed an extreme watchfulness about overheads and a sharp aversion to government intrusion.”

In 1989, Haley graduated from Orangeburg Preparatory School and went on to earn a bachelor's degree in accounting from Clemson University in 1994. 

Early experience working in waste management pushed Haley to become involved in local politics and in 1998 she was made a board member of Orangeburg County’s Chamber of Commerce. 

In 2004, Haley made her first bid for elected public office when she challenged Lexington Country’s longstanding District 87 representative Larry Koon for his seat in South Carolina’s House of Representatives. 

Haley forced a runoff in the primary election, eventually beating Koon with 55% of the vote, and was unopposed in the general election. The win made Haley South Carolina’s first Indian-American representative in the state’s history 

Hilary Client was credited by Haley with inspiring her to run for office, something that might not sit too well with Republicans in 2024. 

"The reason I actually ran for office is because of Hillary Clinton,” Haley said during an interview with NBC News, “She said that when it comes to women running for office, there will be everybody that tells you why you shouldn’t, but that’s all the reasons why we need you to do it, and I walked out of there thinking, That’s it. I’m running for office."

Haley had a fairly successful tenure as a state representative in South Carolina and supported the lowering of taxes, enforcing immigration, and restricting access to abortion rights. 

In 2010, Haley transitioned her success in South Carolina's state legislature into a run for Governor, a race she would win 51% to 47% in a runoff vote.  

Haley was elected to a second term as Governor in 2014 and it was during these years that she began to rise to national prominence for a bill she signed that ordered the removal of Confederate flags from the grounds of South Carolina’s statehouse. 

“I think the more important part is it should have never been there,” Haley said in a 2015 interview with CNN. "These grounds are a place that everybody should feel a part of,” 

“What I realized now more than ever is people were driving by and felt hurt and pain. No one should feel pain," the Governor added. "There is a place for that flag… It's not in a place that represents all people in South Carolina."

In 2016, Haley stated that she would not support legislation that allowed transgendered individuals to use the restroom of their choice, essentially saying it was unnecessary according to the Washington Post. 

On January 24th, 2017, Haley resigned from her position as Governor of South Carolina in order to serve as President Donald Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations, a position that helped her gain even more national exposure. 

Haley had been quite critical of Trump while he was running for president, once saying that she would “not stop until we fight a man that chooses not to disavow the KKK. That is not a part of our party. That's not who we want as president. We will not allow that in our country."

Taking a position as Trump’s lead liaison to the United Nations made Haley a bit of a hypocrite to many onlookers and she continued to support Trump after she left the position of UN Ambassador in October 2018—even calling the former president a “friend” according to Politico.

It wasn’t until Trump incited an insurrection at the Capitol on January 6th that Nikki Haley began to change her tune about her former boss, though she would still defend his policies. 

“Most of Mr. Trump's major policies were outstanding and made America stronger, safer and more prosperous. Many of his actions since the election were wrong and will be judged harshly by history,” Haley wrote in an Op-Ed for The Wall Street Journal in February 2021.

“I will gladly defend the bulk of the Trump record and his determination to shake up the corrupt status quo in Washington,” Haley added. 

After announcing her intention to run for the Republican nomination, Haley billed herself as the Republican Party’s much-needed savior with a new vision that wouldn't sow "division and distractions."

Haley's new vision, however, is made up of the same old GOP talking points we’ve been hearing for years—she's just a standard Republican. A Trump without all the media drama. 

"My purpose is to save our country from the downward spiral of socialism and defeatism. I aim to move America upward, toward freedom and strength,” Haley said on February 15th. 

“Strong and proud, not weak and woke, that’s the America I see,” Haley added, a sentiment that doesn’t bode well for a country looking for real change.