1. Nikki Haley was born Nimrata Nikki Randhawa on Jan. 20, 1972, in Bamberg, S.C., to Indian immigrants Ajit, a biology professor at Voorhees College, and Raj, who started the upscale clothing store Exotica International.
2. At 13, Haley handled the bookkeeping for Exotica.
3. After earning a B.S. in accounting from Clemson University in 1994, Haley worked as account supervisor for a recycling firm. She then returned to her family's business as chief financial officer.
4. She met her husband, Michael Haley, at Clemson and they married in 1996. He is a technician with the South Carolina National Guard and an officer in the Army National Guard. They have two children.
5. She was born and raised as a Sikh. Before her marriage, she became a Methodist, her husband's religion. Subsequently, she attended both a Methodist church and a Sikh temple.
6. In 2003, Haley won her race for the state House of Representatives against a 30-year incumbent. She was re-elected in 2008.
7. She won the 2006 Strom Thurmond Excellence in Public Service and Government Award from the South Carolina Federation of Republican Women.
8. South Carolina's first lady Jenny Sanford and Tea Party icon Sarah Palin both endorsed Haley's campaign.
9. Haley won the Republican nomination for governor with 65 percent of the vote in a runoff, and she leads Democratic opponent Vincent Sheheen by 14 points in recent polls.
10. If she wins, Haley will become the state's first woman and first nonwhite governor.
Reader Comments Read all comments (2)
galinjeans of TX 9:43PM August 20, 2010
Mikey of SC 5:44PM August 16, 2010