Former South Carolina governor and U.N. Ambassador under Donald Trump, Nikki Haley, has announced her candidacy for president. She is the only other Republican to declare that she is running against her former boss.
Haley (51) said she wanted to bring a “new generation of leadership” to the Republican party. Haley would be the first woman of color to be the GOP nominee, being the daughter of Indian immigrants.
Nikki Haley, whose real first name is Nimarata, was born in Bamberg, South Carolina, and, in 2014, was elected the first female governor of South Carolina after six years in that state's House of Representatives. She was the first female governor of any state of Asian-American heritage.
“I stand before you as the daughter of immigrants, as a proud wife of a combat veteran and as the mom of two amazing children. I’ve served as governor of the great state of South Carolina and as America’s ambassador to the United Nations. And above all else, I’m a grateful American citizen who knows our best days are yet to come, if we unite and fight to save our country. I have devoted my life to this fight. And I’m just getting started. For a strong America, for a proud America, I am running for President of the United States of America,” Haley said in a video released on Tuesday.
The announcement of her campaign may break the floodgates for Republicans who have been reluctant to announce their candidacy against Donald Trump. Many commentators foresee Republican candidates walking a fine line between criticizing Trump and setting themselves apart from the popular leader of the Republican Party.
Bob Peryea
National Correspondent
The Kentucky Daily