Politics & Government

‘She was with me’ Nikki Haley signs note for student missing class for campaign event

Candidate fort U.S. President, Nikki Haley signs a poster for Shanlyn Todd during a campaign rally at Thunder Tower Harley Davidson in Pontiac on Monday, Feb. 12, 2024. The note on the poster was an excuse for Shanlyn missing government class to attend the rally.
Candidate fort U.S. President, Nikki Haley signs a poster for Shanlyn Todd during a campaign rally at Thunder Tower Harley Davidson in Pontiac on Monday, Feb. 12, 2024. The note on the poster was an excuse for Shanlyn missing government class to attend the rally. tglantz@thestate.com

A Blythewood High School senior missed her government class Monday. But at least she had an excuse that’s related to the course.

Shanlyn Todd, 18, attended former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s campaign stop and made sure she received a note from the Republican presidential hopeful.

“She was with me during her government class,” Haley wrote on a “Pick Nikki” sign. “God Bless. Nikki Haley.”

Todd attended Haley’s midday campaign stop at Thunder Tower Harley Davidson in Elgin with her parents, Jess and Angela Todd.

“I want her to experience this,” Angela Todd said, adding she would be OK if her daughter went to hear President Joe Biden speak to know more about the political process.

Shanlyn Todd came wearing a Haley t-shirt to the campaign stop and said she is planning to vote in the GOP primary, participating in her first election cycle.

“I’ve just never really followed like the news or anything until I really like started understanding how much having the right to vote actually affects our country,” Shanlyn Todd said. “So like I’m learning about that school right now in government class. So it’s made me actually want to sit down and watch the news more and talk to my parents for about it.”

Candidate fort U.S. President, Nikki Haley signed a poster for Shanlyn Todd during a campaign rally at Thunder Tower Harley Davidson in Pontiac on Monday, Feb. 12, 2024. The note on the poster was an excuse for Shanlyn missing government class to attend the rally.
Candidate fort U.S. President, Nikki Haley signed a poster for Shanlyn Todd during a campaign rally at Thunder Tower Harley Davidson in Pontiac on Monday, Feb. 12, 2024. The note on the poster was an excuse for Shanlyn missing government class to attend the rally. Tracy Glantz tglantz@thestate.com

This story was originally published February 12, 2024 at 4:04 PM.

Joseph Bustos
The State
Joseph Bustos is a state government and politics reporter at The State. He’s a Northwestern University graduate and previously worked in Illinois covering government and politics. He has won reporting awards in both Illinois and Missouri. He moved to South Carolina in November 2019 and won the Jim Davenport Award for Excellence in Government Reporting for his work in 2022. Support my work with a digital subscription
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