EXCLUSIVE: Republican presidential candidate and former governor and ambassador Nikki Haley will unveil her Veterans for Nikki coalition next week during a two-day swing through New Hampshire, the state that holds the first primary and second overall contest in the GOP presidential nominating calendar.
And Haley, the only female candidate among the major contenders for the Republican presidential nomination, will also launch a Women for Nikki New Hampshire coalition. The announcements, shared first with Fox News on Thursday, will come as the former two-term South Carolina governor who later served as ambassador to the United Nations makes her fourth swing through the Granite State since declaring her candidacy for the White House in February.
Serving as the honorary chair of Veterans for Nikki is someone that Haley knows quite well – her husband Michael – who’s a member of the South Carolina National Guard and a full-time federal military technician. He joined the National Guard following 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, and in 2013, he became the first spouse of a sitting governor to serve in a combat zone when he deployed to Afghanistan.
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Former ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is accompanied by her husband Michael Haley at Gov. Henry McMaster’s inauguration, on January 11, 2023 in Columbia, S.C. (Haley presidential campaign)
“When my National Guard unit deployed to Afghanistan while Nikki was governor, I had no doubt that our family and our state would be in strong, capable hands,” Michael Haley said in a statement. “Nikki is fearless and has always had the backs of our veterans and armed forces. As commander-in-chief, she will lead with grit and resolve.”
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Jason Church, a retired U.S. Army captain who lost both of his legs in an IED explosion during his first deployment to Afghanistan, will also serve as part of the veterans coalition leadership team. “A President Nikki Haley will face America’s national security threats with backbone and courage,” he emphasized.
Retired U.S. Army Gen. Don Bolduc introduces Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley at a town hall campaign event in Exeter, New Hampshire, on Feb. 16, 2023 (Fox News )
Haley will announce her veterans coalition next Wednesday, May 24, during a campaign event at VFW Post 1631 in Concord, New Hampshire. Headlining the event will be retired Army Gen. Don Bolduc, a New Hampshire native who spent four decades in the military and served ten tours of duty in Afghanistan. Haley made multiple trips to New Hampshire last autumn to support Bolduc as he made his second straight bid for the Senate. Bolduc endorsed Haley after she launched her 2024 presidential campaign and has introduced her at numerous New Hampshire events.
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Bolduc noted that as South Carolina governor, Haley “signed multiple bills to help our veterans and make the transition to civilian life easier. The bottom line is, Nikki Haley will be a commander-in-chief we can be proud of.”
Former ambassador to the United Nations and former two-term South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who’s running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, holds a town hall in Salem, New Hampshire, on March 28, 2023. (Fox News )
Ahead of her veterans coalition launch next Wednesday, Haley will unveil her Women for Nikki New Hampshire coalition. She announced a similar coalition earlier this year in Iowa, the state whose caucuses lead off the GOP nominating calendar.
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While in New Hampshire next week, Haley will also headline the latest installment of the politics and eggs speaking series at Saint Anselm College’s New Hampshire Institute of Politics, which has been a must stop for White House hopefuls for over two decades. And she’ll headline a No BS Backyard BBQ in Rye, New Hampshire that’s hosted by former Sen. Scott Brown and his wife, former congressional candidate Gail Huff Brown.
