CHARLESTON, South Carolina — Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley’s nascent presidential campaign faces a test as she reintroduces herself to the country.
As possibly the only female candidate to contest the 2024 Republican nomination and a first-generation American, her biography is part of her theory of the case, in addition to her domestic and foreign policy experience. But she has to balance the need to create a lane for herself in what is expected to be a crowded field while respecting the conservative base’s opposition to identity politics.
NIKKI HALEY TESTS WHETHER GOP WANTS ‘NEW GENERATION’ OF LEADERSHIP IN EARLY ANNOUNCEMENT
Haley’s announcement event in Charleston on Wednesday, attended by supporters, college classes, and even a couple visiting from Tennessee, was an opportunity for her to start reintroducing herself to voters outside of the state she led for two terms as governor, from 2011 to 2017.
“Strong and proud, not weak and woke, that’s the America I see,” she told those gathered at the Charleston Visitor Center and Bus Shed. “Realizing this vision won’t be easy — it will take an unparalleled level of commitment from all of us. It requires faith and a willingness to move past the status quo. And it will require doing some things we’ve never done, like sending a tough-as-nails woman to the White House.”
“As I set out on this new journey, I will simply say this: May the best woman win,” she said in a suffragette white suit. “All kidding aside, this is not about identity politics. I don’t believe in that. And I don’t believe in glass ceilings either.”
Yet during her roughly 25-minute speech, Haley, 51, mentioned being a woman and “the daughter of Indian immigrants” twice each, particularly as she recalled her childhood “as a brown girl” growing up in the “black-and-white world” of Bamberg, South Carolina, population 2,500.
“Our little town came to love us, but it wasn’t always easy. We were the only Indian family,” Haley, whose first name is Nimrata, said of her Punjabi Sikh heritage. “Every day, they reminded me, my brothers, and my sister that even on our worst day, we are blessed to live in America.”
“We’re told America is flawed, rotten, and full of hate. Joe and Kamala even say America is racist,” she added later, referring to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. “Take it from the first minority female governor in history: America is not a racist country.”
Haley’s remarks demonstrated the delicate dance she must perform as Democrats and Republicans disagree over their respective approaches to a range of social issues, from the removal of historical statues to critical race theory. Simultaneously, she earns 4% of the registered Republican vote, in contrast to former President Donald Trump‘s 43% and Gov. Ron DeSantis‘s (R-FL) 31%, at least according to a Reuters-Ipsos poll released this week.
Haley’s own response to the 2015 Charleston church shooting and her decision to take down the Confederate battle flag flown on the grounds of South Carolina’s state Capitol will be raised during her bid, presenting a possible obstacle to her aspirations for higher office.
“The problem I have with Nikki, as a white male from South Carolina right now, she did take down our flag,” Charleston law student Ross Ward, 31, said at Haley’s announcement event. “Let’s shine a light on [history]. Let’s not remove history. … We need to expand the Republican Party. We can’t demonize old white men. We have to find a way to bridge that.”
Ward, a former Trump supporter who is now partial toward Haley and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), advised Haley not to underscore her background and instead discuss what she has done for South Carolina and the country, which is “a lot.”
“When I look at [Haley], I see a strong woman who’s diverse,” he said. “I love that. Don’t preach to me about it. I don’t want to be preached to.”
Tennessee-based publisher David Bennett, 62, who was in Charleston on a family trip, predicted Haley will encounter hurdles because of her gender and race.
“People are so hypercritical of women,” the Haley supporter, who believes DeSantis will eventually clinch the nod, said.
However, Charleston retired business comptroller Bob Bull, 73, who is “looking at the field,” argued Haley’s personal story could “attract voters of all types,” “crossing gender lines and racial lines.”
One of those “types” is Charleston college student Ashlyn Shirley, 20, who prefers Haley’s “different perspective” since she is not “a [cisgender] white male” and the fact “she’s pretty reasonable.”
“If she focuses on campaigning towards the woman population, that could do her a lot of good,” she said.
At the same time, Charleston home school mother Susan Smith, 47, hoped Haley would amplify the importance of inclusion as opposed to how she can be differentiated.
“We’re all the same. We’re all human,” the Haley supporter said. “So I don’t know how she should play that up or how much or if at all.”
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Haley will next appear in the early-voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire as Scott embarks on his national listening tour in Charleston on Thursday. Other potential candidates include former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Govs. Chris Sununu (R-NH) and Glenn Youngkin (R-VA), and former Govs. Larry Hogan (R-MD) and Asa Hutchinson (R-AR).
