Nikki Haley rallied in Lexington County.

On April 6, the former Republican South Carolina governor and current 2024 presidential hopeful, hosted a rally at The Grove in Gilbert, and spoke about her political career, education, immigration, China and the national debt, among other topics.

Haley told the crowd that packed into the large, barn-like space that the first thing she would address if elected president is to shift focus to the economy, looking to curtail government spending.

“I will veto any spending bill that doesn't take us back to pre-COVID numbers,” she said.

Haley emphasized the need to balance the country’s budget, saying that it has to be done at home and in business so “there is no reason Congress can’t balance a budget."

The candidate also told the crowd that she wants to stop carelessly giving money to other countries, particularly those that "hate America."

“We have to stop that,” she said. “We will make sure our countries know what to expect of us.“

Another goal Haley mentioned was to stop illegal immigration once and for all. She said she wants to implement a national E-Verify law that requires businesses to verify that all workers are there legally, something she implemented in South Carolina.

“That's how we got all the illegals out of South Carolina because they didn't have a job,” Haley said.

She shared that she has visited roughly 400 miles of the country’s border with Mexico.

Mentioning visits with Border Patrol and National Guardsmen, she said some told her they were “babysitters” and were not being allowed to do their jobs.

“What is happening is not American. What is happening is abusive,” Haley said. “It's abusive to those trying to come across. It's abusive to those ranchers that are there.“

Haley also said she wants to put more focus on education, emphasizing that the nation had issues in this area before COVID-19. 

She brought up the controversial topic of critical race theory within schools, something that has been a hot topic nationwide and locally, taking center stage in races for school board seats and controversy over book bannings.

“If you send them over to kindergarten and she's white, you're telling her she's bad and if she's brown and black, you're telling her she's never going to be good enough and she’s always going to be a victim,” Haley said of what critical race theory teaches children.

Haley has long been a prominent figure in South Carolina, starting her career in state politics in 2004 when she beat out a 30-year incumbent Republican state representative for a seat in Columbia.

In 2010 Haley became the 116th governor of the state, the youngest in the country at that time and the first minority female in America to become a governor.

“She ended up turning South Carolina into ‘the beast of the east’ where we continue to bring in jobs. She put us on the map.” state Rep. Nathan Ballentine said when introducing Haley.

During Haley’s time as governor the state hit an 15-year low in unemployment rates and saw over $20 billion in new capital investment.

“We did some great things in South Carolina. We took a state that had double digit unemployment, and we turned it into an economic powerhouse,” she said.

While governor, Haley pushed to pass ethics reform and signed into law a bill that required lawmakers to put their votes “on the record,” her website states. 

“In South Carolina, legislation was typically passed by voice vote – ‘All in favor say aye, all opposed nay, the ayes had it.’ But one day, they issued a bill that would give legislators a pay raise.” Haley said “‘All in favor say aye.’ ‘All opposed.’ Silence.”

“Yet to this day, you can't find anyone that says they voted themselves a pay raise,” she added.

But she emphasized that despite the problems she sees that need fixing, her outlook remains positive.

“Listen, I love this state. I love this county. You've been very good to me,” Haley said. “But let me make this promise and I will make this very seriously: We will work together, we will win and I promise you our best days are ahead of us.”