“The Year of the Republican Woman”
Described as “The Year of the Republican Woman,” 2010 and the historic November elections were marked by the emergence of many bold, conservative women who led the national debate and were at the forefront of the movement to reclaim government for the American people.
Republican women didn’t just leave their mark in the U.S. House and Senate — the National Conference of State Legislatures reports that Republican women gained more than 100 seats in state legislatures, from 529 in 2010 to 653 in 2011.
Yet, even those candidates who did not achieve victory on November 2nd played a tremendous role in shaping the debate and defining 2010 as the Year of the Republican Woman — CEO’s Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina in California and Sharron Angle in Nevada, and Christine O’Donnell in Delaware.
Indeed the support of both the Tea Party movement and former Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin had a tremendous influence on the emergence and success of many of these candidates, but the common denominator amongst all the newly-elected women was their commitment to American values and the American people.
These women are defined by the values for which they stand — job-creation, fiscal responsibility, excellence in education, health care reform, lower taxes, smaller government, and greater freedom.
They are role models, not only to women across the country, but to all Americans who are ready for real, transformative change. And just as they inspire us to become effective citizen leaders, these women, too, have mentors who inspired and category_ided them throughout their careers.
We are proud to highlight the newly-elected women who have made history in 2010 and the mentors who supported them through their journey.
South Carolina Governor-elect Nikki Haley
On November 2nd, Governor-elect Nikki Haley became the first female governor of South Carolina, the first minority governor in the state’s history, and only the second Indian-American governor in United States history.
Haley was born in South Carolina as the daughter of Indian immigrants. A graduate of Clemson University, she worked as the Accounting Supervisor in a large corporation before helping her family’s business grow into a multi-million dollar organization.
Governor-elect Haley first became a national sensation after her resounding primary victory in June of 2010, when she captured 65 percent of the vote in a run-off election. As the only female candidate running against three established Republicans in the race for Governor, Haley was helped by the support of the Tea Party movement and several endorsements, including Sarah Palin.
Her political debut began in 2004 when, as a relatively unknown candidate, she shocked the establishment by defeating the state’s longest serving legislator in a Republican primary and was elected to represent the 87th District in the South Carolina House of Representatives.
Throughout her career in South Carolina, Governor-elect Nikki Haley has fought wasteful spending, pushed for smaller, more efficient government, and led the fight for accountability and transparency. She has proven to be one of the strongest fiscal conservatives in state government, and her professional experience as an accountant and Chief Financial Officer have armed her with the knowledge to run government efficiently — and on a budget.
As Governor-elect Haley reminded us in her Election Night speech:
“This movement was never meant to be about a person, it was never meant to be about an election. This movement was to be about how we take our state and our country back.”