Nikki Haley's India Reference As Republican Presidential Race Heats Up

Indian-origin leader Nikki Haley on Sunday made an India reference as she voted for the crucial primary elections in her home state of South Carolina.

Haley, who is the last major Republican candidate standing in Donald Trump's path to the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, called herself the "proud daughter of legal immigrants".

US media suggests Donald Trump has won the presidential primary from South Carolina.

"I'm the proud daughter of legal immigrants from a small rural town in South Carolina. My mother was a lawyer in India, and one of the first women to be selected to sit on the court. But because of the times, she never had the opportunity," Haley said on X.

"Today, I got to stand by her as she cast her vote for her child to be president of the United States. And her grandchild got to vote for his mom," she added.

Haley also shared a picture in which she was seen looking at the ballot alongside her mother, Raj Kaur Randhawa, during the South Carolina Republican presidential primary. She also posted a photo in which her son, Nalin Haley, was seen voting.

I'm the proud daughter of legal immigrants from a small rural town in South Carolina.

My mother was a lawyer in India, and one of the first women to be selected to sit on the court. But because of the times, she never had the opportunity.

Today, I got to stand by her as she… pic.twitter.com/Lhxd13iuhG

If elected, Nikki Haley would be the first-ever female and first-ever Indian-American president of the United States.

Who Is Nikki Haley?

Nikki Haley was born in Bamberg, South Carolina in 1972 to Sikh parents Ajit Singh Randhawa and Raj Kaur Randhawa.

They had reportedly migrated from Punjab to Canada and then to the US in the 1960s. The Indian-origin Republican leader is one of four children.

She has been the two-term Governor of South Carolina and the former US Ambassador to the United Nations.

When she was elected the 116th governor of South Carolina in 2010, she was the youngest governor in the US and the first minority female governor in America.

The then President Donald Trump had nominated her to serve as the US Ambassador to the UN in 2016. During her stint, Haley also served as a member of the President's Cabinet and on the National Security Council.

Nikki Haley Is Married To Michael Haley

Nikki Haley is married to Michael Haley and both have two children, Nalin and Rena.

She met Michael at Clemson University, from where she graduated in 1994 with a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting and finance.

Michael is a combat veteran and was deployed to Afghanistan in 2013.