South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley has drawn praise for her response to the massacre of nine people at a historic black church in the city of Charleston and the ensuing removal of the Confederate battle flag from outside her Statehouse office.
Now the 43-year-old daughter of Indian immigrants looks to her next role as the self-described host of a key early presidential primary election. The national attention includes talk about her potential as a presidential running mate and as a voice for a Republican Party that needs more votes from women and minorities.
But fellow Republicans warn that her rise from state representative to her tenure as South Carolina's first female and minority governor would have to survive the intense scrutiny of a national campaign.
"There are sometimes events in an elected official's life that transcend politics, and this certainly was one for Gov. Haley," said Ted Newton, who helped lead the research team that vetted vice-presidential prospects for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in 2012.
Newton praised Haley's "skill and grace" in recent weeks. Yet, he said, "The fact that she's in the headlines briefly doesn't guarantee anything."
According to her aides, Haley has met in recent months with 10 of the Republican Party's 15 prominent declared candidates.
Haley refuses to discuss the massacre at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in the context of her future, and she maintains that her change of heart on the Civil War-era battle flag was not a political calculation.
Haley first drew national attention in 2010, when she won a bruising Republican primary and a competitive general election.
She has sought to define her administration on job creation, primarily through the decisions by BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Boeing and a host of tire makers to establish or expand plants in South Carolina. But she routinely battles with her fellow Republicans in the Legislature on tax and budget issues.
State Rep. Rick Quinn, who has aligned with Haley in her fiscal fights, said the governor faces "jealousy" in the Republican-controlled state. But he said presidential candidates should take note of the governing skill she demonstrated in cajoling lawmakers to remove the battle flag.
"To get 170 politicians to come along with her was a tough task," Quinn said.
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Associated Press writer Seanna Adcox contributed to this report. Barrow reported from Atlanta.
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