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Nikki Haley

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Nikki Haley
SCNikkiHaileyPicture.png
Governor of South Carolina
Incumbent
In office
January 12, 2011 - Present
Term ends
2014
Years in position 2
PartyRepublican
PredecessorMark Sanford (R)
Compensation
Base salary$106,078
Elections and appointments
First electedNovember 2, 2010
Next electionNovember 4, 2014
Campaign $$5,902,737
Term limitsN/A
Prior offices
South Carolina House of Representatives
January 3, 2005 – November 8, 2010
Education
Bachelor'sClemson University (1994)
Personal
BirthdayJanuary 20, 1972
Place of birthBamberg, SC
ReligionMethodist
Websites
Office website
Personal website
Campaign website

Contents

Nimrata "Nikki" Randhawa Haley, (b. January 20, 1972 in Bamberg, South Carolina), is the Republican Governor of South Carolina and a former member of the South Carolina House of Representatives, representing District 87, Lexington County. She served on the Education and Public Works Committee.

On November 2, 2010, Haley was elected Governor of South Carolina, defeating Democratic nominee Vincent Sheheen. Haley's election makes her the first Indian-American woman to become governor and the second Indian-American governor in the United States after Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.[1] She announced her bid for governor on May 14, 2009.[2]

Biography

Haley was born Nimrata Nikki Randhawa in Bamberg, South Carolina on January 20, 1972 to Sikh immigrants parents Dr. Ajit Singh Randhawa and Raj Kaur Randhawa who migrated from Amritsar District, Punjab, India.[3] She is the sister of Mitti and Charan he two brothers and Simran her sister. [4] When she graduated from Orangeburg Preparatory School she went on to earn her B.S. in accounting from Clemson University [5] after she finished college she went on to join FCR Corporation which is a waste management and recycling company [6][7] later joining her mother's company Exotica International which is an upscale clothing firm,in 1994. The business grew to become a multi-million dollar company.[8]

In 1998 Haley was named to the Orangeburg County Chamber of Commerce board of directors. She was named to Lexington Chamber of Commerce in 2003 and in the same year she became the treasurer of the National Association of Women Business Owners and a year later in 2004 became it's president.[9] She was involved in many organizations which included the Lexington Gala an organization that raised funds for a local hospital which she was chair of, [10] She serves on the Lexington Medical Foundation, Lexington County Sheriff’s Foundation, West Metro Republican Women, is President of the South Carolina Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners, she is chairman of the 2006 Friends of Scouting Leadership Division campaign and she is also a member of the Rotary Club in Lexington[11]

Education

Political career

Haley first won election to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 2004, representing District 87. She was named Chairman of the Freshman Caucus in 2005 and Majority Whip for the House Republican Caucus in 2006.[12] She was elected Governor of South Carolina in on November 2, 2012][13]

Governor of South Carolina (2011 - Present)

Labor complaint

Haley was among 16 Republican governors to sign a letter to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The letter asks the board to dismiss the complaint it made in April 2011 against aircraft maker Boeing, which plans to operate a plant in South Carolina. South Carolina is a right-to-work states and the NLRB claims Boeing established an assembly plant in North Charleston, S.C., in retaliation for past labor problems the company has experienced in the state of Washington.

Haley wrote to Lafe Solomon, acting general counsel of the NLRB, taking issue with the agency’s action. The letter was dated June 16, 2011.[14]

Presidential preference

2012

See also: Endorsements by state officials of presidential candidates in the 2012 election

Nikki Haley endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election. [15]

Elections

2014

See also: South Carolina gubernatorial election, 2014

Haley is contemplating a run for re-election as governor in 2014. As of Feb. 2013, Haley's plan is to wait until the legislative session concludes on June 6 to announce her final decision about the race.[16]

2010

See also: South Carolina gubernatorial election, 2010

On November 2, 2010, Haley defeated Vincent Sheheen (D) by a little less than 60,000 votes out of nearly 1.3 million ballots cast for governor in the first open gubernatorial election in South Carolina since 1994. She became South Carolina's first female governor when she took office on Jan. 13, 2011.

South Carolina Governor, 2010
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark.jpgNikki Haley 51.4% 690,525
     Democratic Vincent A. Sheheen 46.9% 630,534
     Green Morgan Bruce Reeves 0.9% 12,483
     UNC Morgan Bruce Reeves 0.6% 7,631
     Write-In Various 0.2% 3,025
Total Votes 1,344,198
Election Results Via: South Carolina Election Commission


While Haley had finished strong in the 2010 Gubernatorial Primary, receiving 49 percent of all ballots cast among the four candidates, she didn't receive the 50 percent-plus one needed to secure the nomination outright, necessitating a runoff. Her opponent was Gresham Barrett, who had finished second in the primary with 21.8 percent of the Republican vote. The runoff was held June 22 and Haley again won convincingly.

2010 Race for Governor - Republican Runoff [17]
Candidates Percentage
Green check mark.jpg Nikki R. Haley (R) 65.1%
Gresham Barrett (R) 34.9%
Total votes 359,334

Haley's gubernatorial aspirations was the beneficiary of a number of serendipitous boosts. Just weeks before the primary, former Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin traveled to Columbia to campaign with Haley, and her popularity in the polls shot up immediately.

On December 7, 2009, Erick Erickson of RedState.com announced support for Haley in the 2010 South Carolina gubernatorial election. "Nikki Haley is one of us. Now we need to stick up for her and fund her. If you have money, give it. If you have time, give it. If you have prayers, offer them up," wrote Erickson in a blog entry.[18][19]

In November 2009 Haley's bid for the Republican nomination for Governor received a boost when South Carolina First Lady Jenny Sanford backed Haley to replace her husband in 2011. Haley's campaign had been struggling, ending the third-quarter with the least amount of cash on hand out of the five GOP contenders for the nomination.[20][21]

Haley ended up trouncing her three rivals, nearly gaining a majority of Republican votes cast.

2010 Race for Governor - Republican Primary [22]
Candidates Percentage
Green check mark.jpg Nikki R. Haley (R) 48.9% [23]
Gresham Barrett (R) 21.8%
Henry McMaster (R) 16.9%
Andre Bauer (R) 12.5%
Total votes 422,251

2008

In 2008, Haley was re-elected for a third term to the South Carolina House of Representatives with 83 percent of the votes; reported as the largest margin of any state representative with a contested general election in South Carolina. According to Lexington County election results, Haley received 17,043 of the total votes, Edgar Gomez, the Democratic candidate, received 3,446 (16.8 percent) of the votes.[24]

Haley raised $170,815 for her campaign, while Gomez raised $2,600.[25]

South Carolina House of Representatives, District 87 (2008)
Candidates Votes
Green check mark.jpg Nikki Haley (R) 17,043
Edgar Gomez (D) 3,446

2006

Haley ran unopposed and was automatically elected for a second term.[26] In 2006, Speaker Bobby Harrell appointed Rep. Haley as House Republican Whip. In 2006 she served on the House Labor, Commerce & Industry Committee.[27]

2004

In the 2004 election Haley defeated then-longest-serving member of the House of Representatives Larry Koon, who served since 1975. In the primary election, Haley won 40 percent, 2,247, of the vote and Koons won 42 percent, 2,354, of the vote.[28] In light of the close election, both candidates squared off in a runoff. Haley won 54.7 percent, 2,928 votes, of the total; defeating Koon. There wasn't a Democratic candidate so Haley ran unopposed and won the seat.[29]

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Haley is available dating back to 2004. Based on available campaign finance records, Haley raised a total of $5,902,737 during that time period. This information was last updated on March 17, 2013.[30]

Nikki Haley's Campaign Contribution History
Year Office Result Contributions
2012 SC Governor Not up for election $1,592,103
2010 SC Governor Won $3,969,865
2008 SC State House Won $170,815
2006 SC State House Won $90,653
2004 SC State House Won $79,301
Grand Total Raised $5,902,737

Individual breakdown

Ballotpedia collects information on campaign donors for each year in which a candidate or incumbent is running for election. The following table offers a breakdown of Nikki Haley's donors each year.[31] Click [show] for more information.


Personal

Haley and her husband, Michael, currently resides in Lexington County, South Carolina. They have two children.[32]

Awards

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term "Nikki + Haley + South + Carolina + Governor"

All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.

Nikki Haley News Feed


Cite error: <ref> tags exist, but no <references/> tag was found


See also

External links

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References

  1. ↑ Live Punjab,"Indian Sikh woman in race for South Carolina governorship," June 24, 2009
  2. ↑ Herald Online, "Rep. Haley announces bid to become state's first female governor", May 14, 2009
  3. ↑ The New York Times: "All Her Life, Nikki Haley Was the Different One," June 13, 2010
  4. ↑ NRI Achievers: "Raj Randhawa Takes Her Family Business from Strength to Strength," Unknown
  5. ↑ Asian Tribune.: "Nikki Haley: Daughter of Indian Sikh immigrants destined to be South Carolina Governor," Unknown
  6. ↑ Manta:"FCR,Inc Company Profile," Unknown
  7. ↑ hoovers.com: "Waste Management & Remediation Services - Charlotte, North Carolina," Unknown
  8. ↑ Indian American Center for Political Awareness: "Nikki Haley in runoff for South Carolina Assembly Republican Primaries," 2004
  9. ↑ South Carolina General Assembly.: " Representative Nikki Randhawa Haley ," April 11, 2007
  10. ↑ Indian American Center for Political Awareness: " Nikki Haley in runoff for South Carolina Assembly Republican Primaries," 2004
  11. ↑ Official site.: " Representative Nikki Randhawa Haley Bio," unknown
  12. ↑ Nikki Haley official site, "About," retrieved July 6, 2009
  13. ↑ South Carolina Governor, "About: Nikki Haley," accessed May 25, 2012
  14. ↑ "Labor Complaint Against Boeing Opposed by Haslam," by Mike Morrow, Tennessee Report, June 19, 2011
  15. ↑ Associated Press, "Romney picks up SC gov's endorsement in GOP race," December 16, 2011
  16. ↑ The Associated Press via MyrtleBeachOnline, "Gov Haley names co-chairs for possible run in 2014," February 19, 2013
  17. ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission - 2010 Republican Runoff
  18. ↑ RedState, "Nice Guys Only Finish Last If We Let Them," December 7, 2009
  19. ↑ The State, "Haley gets RedState.com endorsement," December 7, 2009
  20. ↑ The Sun News Jenny Sanford backs Haley to succeed her husband, November 12, 2009
  21. ↑ Nikki Haley official website, "First Lady Jenny Sanford Endorses Our Campaign," November 12, 2009
  22. ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission - 2010 Republican and Democratic Primary
  23. ↑ Even though Nikki Haley received the most votes, she failed to receive over fifty percent of those votes required by South Carolina state law. A run-off election between the top two vote recipients, therefore, was required to decide who went on to the general election.
  24. ↑ Lexington County,"2008 Election Results," retrieved July 12, 2009
  25. ↑ Follow the Money's report 2008 Campaign donations in South Carolina
  26. ↑ Asian-American Politics," retrieved July 12, 2009
  27. ↑ Home Builders Association of South Carolina, "Columbia HBA Recognizes Representative Nikki Haley with Champion of Housing Award," retrieved July 12, 2009
  28. ↑ Free Times,"Haley’s Star Rising," October 22, 2008
  29. ↑ NRI, "Nikki Randhawa, NRI, Sikh Busimess woman won the run-off election to the South Carolina State Assembly," June 10, 2004
  30. ↑ Follow the Money "Career Fundraising for Nikki Haley," Accessed March 10, 2013
  31. ↑ Follow the Money.org
  32. ↑ The State,"Haley announces run for governor," May 15, 2009
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 33.2 33.3 33.4 33.5 33.6 33.7 South Carolina Legislature,"Nikki Haley," June 19, 2009
Political offices
Preceded by
Mark Sanford (R) 		Governor of South Carolina
2010–present 		Succeeded by
-
Preceded by
- 		South Carolina House of Representatives District 87
2004–2010 		Succeeded by
Todd Atwater (R)
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