COLUMBIA, S.C.—From her public statements of grief to removing the Confederate battle flag from outside her Statehouse office, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has drawn wide praise since the massacre of nine black churchgoers from a historic Charleston congregation.
Now the 43-year-old looks to her next role as the self-described host of a key early presidential primary, with the national attention feeding chatter about her potential as a running mate and as a voice for a Republican Party that needs more votes from women and minorities.
Just how prominent she remains in 2016, though, depends on factors well beyond this latest chapter in Haley’s intense, complicated rise from state representative to her tenure as South Carolina’s first female and minority governor, a five-year stretch that has rankled many of her fellow Republicans.
