Indian Americans are making waves in politics. Nikki Haley won a runoff election yesterday as the South Carolina Republican governor nominee with 65% of the vote. She is favored to take the Governor seat in November. If Nikki Haley wins, she would be South Carolina’s first woman governor and the first Indian-American woman in the country to win such a post. She’ll join Bobby Jindal of Louisiana as the second Indian-American governor in the US. Her backers include the “tea party” movement and Sarah Palin. Let’s see what happens in November.

Nikki Haley – South Carolina Republican govenor nominee

More about Nikki Haley

Born in Bamberg, S.C., the daughter of Indian immigrants, Nikki’s first job was keeping the books for her family’s clothing store – at the age of 13. She went on to graduate from Clemson University with a B.S. degree in accounting and following her graduation worked as Accounting Supervisor for the Charlotte, N.C. based corporation FCR, Inc. and five of its subsidiaries. Nikki then went back to the family business where she helped oversee its growth into a multi-million dollar operation. Since 2008 she has served as the Assistant Executive Director of the Lexington Medical Foundation.

Nikki and her husband Michael, a full time federal technician with the South Carolina National Guard and an officer in the Army National Guard, attend Mt. Horeb United Methodist Church in Lexington. She was previously a board member of both the Orangeburg and Lexington County Chambers of Commerce and a member of the National Association of Women Business Owners. Currently, Nikki sits on the board for Mt. Horeb United Methodist Church, Medmission, and is a proud member of the West Metro Republican Women and the Lexington County Republican Party.