Everything You Need to Know About Rising Republican Nikki Haley, Trump's Pick For UN Ambassador

At age 44, Nikki Haley is the youngest governor currently serving in America. She's also her state's first woman to hold the position.

Haley was born to Sikh immigrants from Punjab, India. While she was raised a Sikh and still attends services, she converted to Methodism and now identifies as a Christian. While running for governor, she encountered racism. South Carolina lawmaker Jake Knotts shockingly said, "We've already got one raghead in the White House; we don't need another raghead in the governor's mansion." Haley went on to become the second Indian-American ever to be elected governor in the US.

Nikki Haley has said Hillary Clinton inspired her to run for political office, but don't let that mislead you; the Republican governor is solidly conservative. Haley is anti-abortion and has voted for bills promoting abortion restrictions, including a 24-hour waiting period bill and a pre-ultrasound bill. She has, however, supported bills that allow abortion to save the mother's life and exemptions from the mandatory ultrasound in the case of rape. On the topic of contraception, Haley told the women of The View in 2012 that "Women don't care about contraception. They care about jobs and their families." Although, it's not clear those are mutually exclusive, considering contraception can directly impact both your job and your family.

Though the Tea Party's support for Haley, who is pro-gun and pro small government, helped her win her state's highest office, she surprised that base when she endorsed Mitt Romney in 2012. They were hoping for Newt Gingrich. She delivered a headline address for Romney at the 2012 Republican National Convention.

When it comes to her personal life, Nikki Haley has flipped the expected script on politicians and affairs. She, not her husband, was twice accused of having an affair — once with a lobbyist and once with a blogger in 2007. She denied the accusations and had her loyal husband (who serves in the National Guard) stand by her side in a political ad in 2010, much like the wives of allegedly philandering male politicians have done.

In her memoir, Can't Is Not an Option, Haley addressed the affair accusations, writing: "Once again, I was being forced into the humiliating position of having to deny being unfaithful to my husband. It was a lie, it was ugly, it was sexist, and it was crowding out all the issues the people really cared about in the campaign."

Nikki Haley ran against the boys' club establishment. In the Republican primary, she beat out three other male governor candidates in 2010 by promising to end the "old-by fraternity" that she said comprised South Carolina's politics. During her campaign for governor, she said, "When you turn around and threaten their power and you threaten their money, they turn around and push back. But what they don't understand is I have a strong faith; I have a strong spine."

Nikki Haley's original base was made up largely of Tea Party voters, and Sarah Palin may have helped her shore up their support. In Sarah Palin's endorsement message, posted on her Facebook page in 2012, the former Alaska governor said, "Nikki is a strong pro-life, pro-Second Amendment fiscal conservative who served with distinction as a state lawmaker, a reformer who fought her own party to protect the interests of the taxpayer, a proud daughter of immigrants who worked night and day to achieve the American dream, a wife of an officer in the Army National Guard, a board member at her family's Methodist church, and — most proudly — the loving mother of two beautiful kids."