The 43-year-old, born Nimrata Nikki Randhawa, turned to Christianity when she married her husband, Michael, in 1996. . . . The daughter of immigrants, she’s tough on immigration and once listed herself as “white” on a 2001 voter registration card. When constituents questioned her faith, she switched from referencing God to, specifically, Jesus Christ.

But these seeming tensions have made her a compelling political character. After only four years in office, Haley’s name is being floated as a potential VP candidate in 2016. And her rapid ascent from humble state legislator to twice-elected governor is yet more proof of a Republican identity in flux. “She has an amazing narrative and just as much experience” as other possible VP contenders like Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, George Washington University political scientist Lara Brown says. “Quite frankly,” she adds, “I think Haley should have gotten in the presidential race.” But perhaps by not entering the crowded field, she’s earning more respect and waiting to cash in on the inevitable “woman question” when the GOP has to face down Hillary. Were she offered a spot on the GOP ticket, Haley said at a September appearance at the National Press Club in Washington, “Of course, I would sit down and talk.”

Read the article “Nikki Haley, the Next Vice-President?” on ozy.com.