Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina will deliver the Republican response to President Barack Obama's final State of the Union address next week, NBC News reported.
Since her election in 2010, Haley has built a national profile, serving as the country's youngest governor and South Carolina's first woman to hold the job. An Indian-American who was first elected at the age of 38, she made headlines in July for her successful push to remove the Confederate flag from the South Carolina statehouse grounds in Columbia.
A staunch conservative with relatively strong approval ratings -- in a state that hosts the nation's third presidential nominating contest -- Haley is often discussed as a potential short-lister for the GOP vice presidential nod.
Haley will be the third Republican woman in as many years to deliver the State of the Union response. Last year's address was given by Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst; the previous year's was delivered by Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers.
