


From left, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former South Carolina first lady Jenny Sanford, Nikki Haley and state attorney general Henry McMaster in Charleston, S.C., on Friday. Associated Press

Mrs. Haley, 38 years old, is an Indian-American, born into the Sikh faith, who converted to Christianity as an adult. Her background has prompted some voters to seek assurances that she is committed to her Christian faith and understands the feelings among some about the state's Civil War history.

Mrs. Haley appears to have overcome these tests. She is heavily favored to win a GOP primary runoff Tuesday and is leading in general election polls—an ascent that began with an endorsement by Sarah Palin and, many GOP leaders believe, accelerated as voters rejected grumblings about Mrs. Haley's background and unproven allegations of marital infidelity. She would be the first woman to hold the state's top political job.

Nikki Haley

Born: Bamberg, S.C., daughter of Indian immigrants

Graduated: Clemson University in accounting

Work Experience: Family's clothing business, among other employers

Religion: Born Sikh; converted to Christianity

Political experience: Elected to state House in 2004. Re-elected twice

Policy positions: Favors term limits, eliminating state's smallbusiness income tax. Opposes federal stimulus package.

Husband: Michael; two children, ages 12 and 8

"As ugly and as tough as it has been," said Katon Dawson, former state GOP chairman, "I think South Carolina Republicans are pretty proud of what's going on right now."

Like her three GOP rivals for the governor's office, Mrs. Haley sat this spring for a videotaped interview with the Palmetto Patriots, a local activist group that aims to "fight attacks against Southern Culture" and talks with candidates "to ensure compliance with conservative values."


Members of the group were curious about Mrs. Haley's views because of her heritage, said Robert Slimp, a Columbia, S.C., pastor who participated in the questioning. The group did not ask her rivals about the war, he said, because "all of them are Southerners whose families go back to beyond the war between the states, back to antebellum times, and they would have a deeper appreciation of Southern thinking and mentality."

Mrs. Haley has also found herself questioned, in media appearances and personal conversations, about her Christian faith. As recently as Friday, Phillip Bowers, the GOP chairman in Pickens County and a co-chairman of the campaign of Mrs. Haley's rival in today's run-off, circulated an email to party activists suggesting that Mrs. Haley had been dishonest about her religious conversion.

The note charged that Mrs. Haley "can't seem to make up her mind about her faith." The campaign of Mrs. Haley's opponent in the Tuesday GOP run-off, Gresham Barrett, said it was "absolutely not" connected to the email.

Conservative radio show host Bob McLain said callers to his program have asked about Mrs. Haley's faith, and that questions about her religion had recently reached a "ludicrous point."

Mr. McLain said he had asked Mrs. Haley personally about her religion and came away convinced of the firmness of her Christian faith.

Mrs. Haley's campaign said persistent questions about religion had prompted it to revise its website. It now features a page designed to shoot down rumors, with the headline "Question: Is Nikki a Christian?"

The answer: "My faith in Christ has a profound impact on my daily life and I look to Him for guidance with every decision I make." That response was sharpened from the site's previous answer, which did not mention Christ but referred instead to "Almighty God."

When Mrs. Haley first ran for the legislature in 2004, one of her campaign brochures said she was "proudly raised with her Indian traditions." Still, her campaign has been sensitive to questions of race, and has chastised reporters for using the candidate's full name, Nimrata Nikki Randhawa Haley.

Jerry Young, a Haley supporter who leads a social-services charity in Charleston, said he believed Mrs. Haley's personal history was an advantage for her, politically. "With people being sick of politics-as-usual, I think that opened up a door that probably wouldn't have been there before" he said. This year, Mrs. Haley's biography gives her "a better chance than somebody that may look like a South Carolina politician."

But even Mr. Young, who heads the Charleston Leadership Foundation, said he had felt the need to ask Mrs. Haley about rumors that she was a Buddhist. He invited Mrs. Haley to his home, and his wife asked over dinner: " 'Is it true?' " Mr. Young recalled. "She said, 'Absolutely not. I'm a Christian.' "

Mrs. Haley's half-hour meeting with the Palmetto Patriots illustrated how she has sought to assure potential skeptics while also embracing her ethnicity.

She pledged to retain a political compromise that gave the Confederate flag a place of prominence in front of the State House, a position that puts her within the mainstream among GOP leaders in the state. Further, Mrs. Haley noted that "as a minority female" she was ideally suited to counteract an ongoing boycott led by civil rights groups.

Mrs. Haley chose her words carefully in talking about the causes of the Civil War.

"You had one side of the Civil War that was fighting for tradition, and I think you had another side of the Civil War that was fighting for change," she said. She did not use the word "slavery" but hinted at it, saying that "everyone is supposed to be free."


Mrs. Brabham said the whispers about race and religion were disgusting and only elevated Mrs. Haley in many voters' minds.

"This child was born in this town," Mrs. Brabham said. "She grew up here. . . . Come on! I thought we had climbed this mountain."

Write to Peter Wallsten at and Valerie Bauerlein at