On the heels of this post of mine at The Moderate Voice and its very lengthy discussion about why there are far fewer conservative or Republican women in elected office than there are liberal or Democratic women comes yesterday's announcement by South Carolina State Representative Nikki Haley - a 37 year old third-term Republican from Lexington County - that she is entering SC's gubernatorial primary rac

e (here is her campaign website).

From The State:

Haley, an accountant and mother of two, said she wants to make government more open and give residents a reason to feel more positive about it.

"I know what good government can look like," Haley said. "I'm running for governor so the people of the state will know what it feels like."

Haley is in her third term in the S.C. House, having unseated long-serving veteran Larry Koon in 2004. Haley has been a contrarian voice in the House, often standing against the GOP majority. She frequently has supported Sanford's positions, but has also introduced her own issues.

The article strongly suggests that Haley could be someone current Governor, Mark Sanford, who is term-limited, might support:

The Republican governor has said he plans to get involved in his successor's election and has $1.7 million remaining in his campaign fund, which could be used on issue ads.

"It's too early to endorse anyone," Sanford said Thursday. "But I would say Nikki Haley would make a terrific and inspiring choice as governor, and she's a great addition to the field of candidates."

However, the ghost of Lee Atwater has been resurrected by SC commentators already:

To become governor, Haley will have to overcome questions about her Indian heritage and whether S.C. voters will accept a woman chief executive.

During her first State House run, anonymous ads in Lexington County questioned Haley's faith. Haley was raised a Sikh but is now a Methodist.

...

"It will be a factor because this is South Carolina, the land of the lingering fog of Lee Atwater," agreed [Winthrop University political scientist Scott] Huffmon, referring to the late S.C. political consultant who raised issues of race and religion in campaigns.

And, directly on point about the discussion in my previous post that sought to elicit ideas as to why there's a dearth of female GOP politicians:

Women also have not fared well in S.C. politics. The percentage of women in the S.C. Legislature is among the lowest in the nation.

But recent Republican politics, observers say, prove those issues may not be as important as they once were.

...

State Rep. Joan Brady, R-Richland, said GOP women sometimes lack the confidence to run and have more trouble raising money. She also said she has met women who say they will not vote for another woman. But Brady said Palin proved women will rally around the right candidate, one with a strong voice on women's and family issues.

"They do bring something different" to a campaign, Brady said of female candidates.

Additionally, this CNN story's headline about Haley entering the race calls her "top Sanford ally." It doesn't specifically indicate her position on Sanford's stimulus fund rejection policies but it does say this:

In the state house, she has been a loyal backer of Sanford's small-government initiatives, proposals which have often irked other Republican lawmakers. Haley also plans to hire Sanford's Washington-based political consultant, Jon Lerner, to run her campaign.

Haley became the first Indian-American Republican state legislator in the country in 2004 after winning a nasty primary runoff that featured an anonymous mail attack calling attention to her non-white heritage.

She would become South Carolina's first female governor - if she can survive a crowded Republican primary already loaded with South Carolina GOP heavyweights who are backed by some of the state's best political strategists.

Although Haley is regarded as a rising star among South Carolina Republicans, several GOP operatives in the state not affiliated with rival campaigns told CNN they were surprised she is choosing to jump into a five-way primary now rather than wait for a clearer opportunity at a later date.

As you might expect from me, I want to know who those SC operatives are and if any of them are women because usually, when we here that, "why is she running now rather than waiting for a clearer opportunity" - that's total code for "wait your turn." True - true - true - that's said to newcomers of both genders. But it's particularly suspect when a female candidate is involved, IMO.

My opinion? It's great - the only thing that would be better is if
she'd run for the SC state senate, since it currently does not have
even one woman period. Oh - and if there's a good female SC Democratic
woman (aw, I had to add that). Would lurv to see two women
gubernatorial candidates in South Carolina - now that would be change.

Btw, Haley is tweeting now - twitter.com/nikkihaley.

Hattip to a comment by Jenn Q Public.