The South Carolina governor is also a conservative, with a conservative record. She has also distinguished herself by principled opposition to Trump. She is phenomenally popular in her state.
And, Haley embodies precisely the argument that conservatives need to make in the wake of Trump: that conservatism is not, need not be, a vehicle for white identity politics. Not just because she’s Indian-American, but also because she is the governor who, in a historic gesture in the wake of the deadly shooting at a Charleston church, removed the Confederate flag from the capitol grounds. And she did it while still enjoying an over 80 percent approval rating among Republican voters. Especially in a three-way race with Hillary Clinton, this narrative is exactly what conservatives need to tell the country. Meanwhile, sadly, Rick Perry embodies conservative clichés that aren’t great: the drawling, macho male.
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