Who will be the next president of United States of America? Will Joe Biden get a second term in office? Or will America opt for a new president to occupy the Oval office in the White House? The presidential race in one of the world’s oldest democracies is keenly observed and discussed globally.
This election is no different. Both Republicans and Democrats are holding primaries with South Carolina witnessing former president Donald Trump emerging as the winner with 451, 905 votes and gaining 44 delegates. He edged past his nearest competitor Nikki Haley, who happens to be a former governor of this state.
“I’m a woman of my word. I’m not giving up this fight when a majority of Americans disapprove of both Trump and Biden. In the next 10 days, 21 states and territories will speak. They have the right to a real choice, not a Soviet-style election with only one candidate. And I have a duty to give them that choice,” Haley posted on social platform X.
Who is Nikki Haley?
But who exactly is Nikki Haley? On February 14, 2023, the Republican politician of Indian-origin announced her bid for the White House, three months after Trump had declared he would run for the top post. Here’s all you need to know about her:
1. Born as Nimrata Randhawa on January 20, 1972 to immigrant Sikh parents who hailed from Amritsar, she graduated in 1994 with a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Clemson University in South Carolina.
2. Nikki married her beau Bill in 1996, who later changed his name to Michael. According to Politico, her parents wanted her to marry someone from the same background and religion. Her parents told him that he would have to get a job, buy a house and car and cannot have any communication with his girlfriend for a year. Michael and Nikki got married first in a Sikh gurdwara in Columbia and later in St. Andrew By-The-Sea United Methodist Church on Hilton Head Island. Nikki converted that year to Christianity, the report added. The couple have been married for over 26 years and have two children Nalin and Rena, as well as two dogs named Bentley and Rio.
3. In 2004, Haley contested the South Carolina State House and won. Her push for tax cuts and transparency earned her popularity. Six years later, she ran for governorship and won at the age of 38. The victory was a narrow won as she won 51 per cent of votes against 47 by her Democratic opponent. She was the first woman governor of the state and also the first non-white. After Bobby Jindal, Haley was the second Indian-American governor of a US state.
4. As the governor, Haley signed a bill to crack down on illegal immigrants which included a new law enforcement unit and requiring police officers to check the immigration status of people they stopped or arrested on suspicion of them residing in the country illegally.
5. When Trump had run for president in 2016, Haley had opposed him. According to CBS News, she had said,” Trump everything a governor doesn’t want in a president.” Later that year, Trump appointed her as the US ambassador to the United Nations. She left the post after two years over allegations pertaining to acceptance of seven free flights for herself and husband Michael Haley on a luxury private aircraft from three businessmen from South Carolina. When Trump was accused of involvement in the 2021 Capitol riots, Haley had said that the US president will not and cannot run for federal office again as ‘he’s fallen so far’.
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