Nikki Haley Clinches South Carolina GOP Gubernatorial Nomination

WASHINGTON, June 23, 2010— -- After clinching the Republican nomination for governor of South Carolina, state Rep. Nikki Haley today begins the campaign to succeed outgoing Gov. Mark Sanford. If she's successful, she'll be the state's first female and Indian-American governor.

Unofficial results showed voters endorsed Haley over U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett by a substantial margin in the runoff election, which was required after Haley narrowly missed capturing the required majority vote to win the race outright on June 8. She now faces Democratic state Sen. Vincent Sheheen in November.

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Haley, a three-term state representative who has been viewed as the hand-picked heir to Sanford, caught many observers by surprise when she surged ahead in the polls last month, surpassing early front-runners Barrett, state Attorney General Henry McMaster, and Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer.

Pundits credited the notable endorsements of tea party groups, former state first lady Jenny Sanford, and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin with legitimizing her candidacy in the face of the state's male-dominated political establishment.

Haley's high-profile rise also captured national attention after the 38-year-old married mother of two faced two separate, unsubstantiated allegations of marital infidelity and became the target of a racial slur. One South Carolina state senator called her a "raghead."

Conservative political blogger Will Folks leveled the first sex allegation late last month, saying he had an "inappropriate physical relationship with Haley" in 2007. Ten days later, Larry Marchant, a paid consultant to Lt. Gov. Bauer, alleged that he'd had a one-night stand with Haley in 2008 but could not provide proof to back up the claim.

Haley has decried the sex allegations as blatant, political attacks.

"I've been absolutely faithful to my husband for 13 years," she said during a televised debate in Charleston before the primary. "This is just disgusting politics."

Haley later promised in a radio interview on Columbia's WVOC that she would resign from office if any of the charges were ever proven.

"If something were to come out that validates the claims that have been made against you ... would you resign as governor because basically the way you've handled it has been an absolute, 100 percent denial?" the host asked Haley.

"Yes," Haley replied.