About Nikki
Bamberg, South Carolina in 1972 was a place where the railroad tracks divided the town by race.
So when Nikki Haley was born one of four children to the only Indian-American family in town she was already an outsider. But Nikki's mom would always say her job was not to show everyone how she was different but how she was the same. And she would also tell her how blessed she was to live in America.
In 2004, Haley ran for the South Carolina State House against a 30-year incumbent Republican lawmaker in the primary and won. In the state legislature, she took on the old guard culture of Columbia and pushed for tax cuts and transparency when legislators in both parties voted to increase their taxpayer-funded benefits. As retaliation, the Republican leadership blackballed Haley, removed her from her committee assignments and attempted to end her career.
So she ran for Governor. And won.
In 2010, Haley was elected the 116th governor of South Carolina. She was the youngest governor in the country and first minority female governor in America.
