Republican Nikki Haley formally launched her 2024 presidential bid on Wednesday, casting herself as a younger and fresher alternative to the 20th century politicians like her one-time boss and former president Donald Trump.
Nikki Haley comes with great credentials, as governor of South Carolina and with foreign policy experience as US Ambassador to the United Nations.
Haley, a former two-term governor of South Carolina, is the third Indian American to have launched a presidential bid.
Haley was born Nimrata Nikki Randhawa on January 20, 1972. Haley was the United Nations ambassador under the Trump regime. She was the second Indian-American governor ever after Bobby Jindal of Louisiana.
Her father, Ajit Singh Randhawa, from the Punjab region of India, teaches at Voorhees College. Her mother Raj Kaur runs a fashion boutique. Haley went to study textile management at Clemson University in Clemson, S.C., on a scholarship. She graduated in 1994 with a bachelor’s degree in accounting.
Haley has two children, a son and a daughter-- Rena and Nalin. Haley has said the reason she ran for office is Hillary Clinton. She ran for a seat in the South Carolina House of Representatives in 2004. in 2010, she ran for governor and won. Haley started every speech in her campaign for governor the same way: “I am the proud daughter of Indian parents who reminded us every day how blessed we are to live in this country,” as per a Politico report. Haley's role models include Margaret Thatcher, Hillary Clinton, Joan Jett and her mother; Martina Navratilova and Gabby Giffords.
