What Nikki Haley learned from Hillary Clinton

Nikki Haley was an unlikely candidate when she first ran for the S.C. State House in 2004. But the Republican took inspiration for her campaign from an unlikely source – then-U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, a New York Democrat.

A profile of the former S.C. governor turned U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, published in New York magazine, says in 2003, a young Haley was looking for encouragement to challenge a sitting legislator in a Lexington County State House district.

“None of the established campaign consultants in Columbia would work for her,” wrote reporter Andrew Rice. “But that fall, Haley attended an inspiring speech by Senator Hillary Clinton, who said that women should ‘dare to compete’ in politics.”

That might seem ironic now, when Haley has burnished her conservative credentials and serves in the administration of President Donald Trump, the man who defeated Clinton’s presidential bid in 2016.

Haley, then a 31-year-old working in her mother’s clothing boutique, campaigned door-to-door for the seat “armed with boxes of Krispy Kreme doughnuts” – and won, defeating state Rep. Larry Koon, R-Lexington, then the House’s longest-serving member.

State Rep. Rita Allison, R-Spartanburg, had advised Haley to aim lower and run for school board or city council first. Instead, Haley’s upset launched her political career and ultimately led her to the United Nations.

“She was just very confident about it – very confident,” Allison told the magazine.

This story was originally published December 13, 2017 at 10:07 AM with the headline "What Nikki Haley learned from Hillary Clinton."