- “I was the proud daughter of Indian immigrants. Not Black, not white. I was different,” Haley, born Nimrata Nikki Randhawa to Sikh immigrants, said in her video. “My mom would always say, ‘Your job is not to focus on the differences but the similarities.’ “
- Haley has a tricky balancing act ahead of her — one where she highlights the importance of her heritage, a tactic Democrats are known for employing as they push their party’s diversity, without overplaying her hand at what Republicans will often label as “identity politics.”
- “Nikki is proud of her heritage and her parents are at events and she talks about her heritage … and being raised the only brown child in a Black and white world, and so she absolutely speaks to that and that’s obviously an important part of what made Nikki Haley into what she is,” said Alex Stroman, former executive director of the South Carolina GOP.
