If you were here when Nikki Haley ran for governor 9 years ago, you will remember this. As Haley’s campaign gathered steam and her polling numbers rose, sleazy political strategists came up with a way to stop her.

They convinced – or paid – 2 men to say they had intimate relations with her.

It was a reversal of what was done to Supeme Court nominee and now Justice Brent Kavanaugh last month.

One of her accusers was a former aide to Mark Sanford who already had an unsavory reputation for assaulting women.

The other was a former Lexington County school board member who most of us figured would have been wiser to keep his mouth shut.

The smear was designed to discredit her, drive her out of the race or, if she stayed in, so damage her that she would lose.

To her credit, Haley denied the accusations, just as Justice Kavanaugh did. She and her family toughed it out and, of course, she became a 2-term governor.

The smear backfired, just as it has in the Kavanaugh case.

She has gone on to serve as President Trump’s UN ambassador, a job from which she plans to step down in December.

What she plans next only she and perhaps her family know.

Nikki Haley has been a friend to us at the Chronicle since she and her family moved to Lexington 15 years ago.

She had started managing the finances for her parents’ clothing business as a teenager. She served on the Lexington Chamber of Commerce board, beat unbeatable Larry Koon for a House seat and served 6 years as our governor.

She graciously invited Chronicle news interns to the Governor’s Office at the Statehouse where she answered their questions and made them feel special as her guests.

We believe she will follow her heart and succeed at whatever she does wherever she goes.

As she became the first female SC Governor, we would not be surprised if she became the first female US President

We’ll all have to wait and see.