Sikh-born Haley elected governor in South Carolina

[GlobalSikhNews]

Washington - South Carolina on Tuesday elected Republican Nikki Haley, the daughter of Sikh immigrant parents, as the first Asian woman to become a US governor.

She beat fellow state legislator Vincent Sheheen, taking 51 per cent of the vote to his 47 per cent.

'Tomorrow morning there's going to be a lot of news and a lot of observers who say we made history. And in some ways, you can look at me and say, 'Yes, we did,'' Haley said Tuesday night in her victory speech.

'But what I want this to be is that we're turning a page. We're turning a page on where we've been, but the history is going to be on where we're going to go.'

She made little of her immigrant family background during her speech, aside from a reference to her parents reminding her how lucky she is to live in the United States. Instead, the speech accentuated that she is through-and-through American, with references to family, '80s music and politics all delivered with the hint of a southern drawl.

'Regardless of how you voted, I'm going to get to work for you,' she assured voters.

An accountant and businesswoman, she has served in the South Carolina legislature since 2004, when she became the first Indian American elected to a state office.

Haley, 38, was born Nimrata Randhawa in Bamberg, South Carolina, one of three children of parents from Amritsar, India. She eventually went to work in the family's prosperous apparel business.

Haley converted to Protestant Christianity before getting married but attends both Methodist and Sikh services out of respect to her parents.

With a reputation in the legislature as an anti-tax, fiscal conservative, her long-shot candidacy starting in 2009 for the Republican nomination for governor melded easily with the national anti-government mood.

She replaces Governor Mark Sanford, who is stepping down due to term limits.

However, his tenure in office, which was overshadowed by a sex scandal, trickled over into Haley's race, with ultimately disproven claims that Haley had also had an affair with Sanford, turning the campaign into one of the 'tawdriest races in history,' according to realclearpolitics.com.

The race saw Haley endure one of her opponents for the Republican nomination smearing her with the ethnic slur 'raghead.' But she also enjoyed support via endorsements from former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and, even, Sanford's wife.