--- ---  # South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley Will Give Republican Response to State of the Union by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Jan 5, 2016 9:24 PM UTC  South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley addresses a Newsmaker Luncheon at the National Press Club September 2, 2015 in Washington, DC. Governor Haley spoke on "Lessons from the New South." South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley addresses a Newsmaker Luncheon at the National Press Club September 2, 2015 in Washington, DC. Governor Haley spoke on "Lessons from the New South."Alex Wong—Getty Images by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Jan 5, 2016 9:24 PM UTC South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley [will deliver the GOP response](http://www.politico.com/story/2016/01/haley-sotu-217369) to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address next week. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell confirmed the news in a statement to Politico, saying “Nikki Haley is a proven leader and committed reformer who believes deeply in the promise of the country we all share.” Traditionally, the opposing party gives a rebuttal speech following the President’s State of the Union. (That job has a history of creating [bad luck for the person selected](http://time.com/3658355/state-of-the-union-curse/).) Haley is coming off a year where she was in the national spotlight for her [handling of the massacre at a church in Charleston](http://time.com/4055728/nikki-haley-charleston-harvard-award/) and the subsequent backlash [over the use of the confederate flag in her state](http://time.com/3947234/governor-haley-confederate-flag/). For its part, White House has hinted that [this year’s speech will be unorthodox](http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/263685-white-house-obama-will-give-a-non-traditional-state-of-the-union). The president will deliver his last State of the Union on Tuesday, Jan. 12 at 9 p.m. EST. **Read More:** [_The Curse of the State of the Union Response_](http://time.com/3658355/state-of-the-union-curse/) State of the Union: Gov. Nikki Haley to Give GOP Response ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4168337/south-carolina-gov-nikki-haley-will-give-republican-response-to-state-of-the-union/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4168337/south-carolina-gov-nikki-haley-will-give-republican-response-to-state-of-the-union/"},"headline":"South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley Will Give Republican Response to State of the Union","datePublished":"2016-01-05T21:24:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T13:48:13.177Z","description":"It will be President Obama's last State of the Union address","url":"https://time.com/4168337/south-carolina-gov-nikki-haley-will-give-republican-response-to-state-of-the-union/","keywords":["White House","Barack Obama","state of the union","South Carolina","Nikki Haley"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf1d09ff0d5c7e5f8/698877a5cd1bba074c6fec5d/gettyimages-486233908.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Daniel White","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/daniel-white/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf1d09ff0d5c7e5f8/698877a5cd1bba074c6fec5d/gettyimages-486233908.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"South Carolina Gov. Nicki Haley Speaks At National Press Club","caption":"South Carolina Gov. Nicki Haley Speaks At National Press Club","creditText":"Alex Wong—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/white-house/","name":"White House"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4168337/south-carolina-gov-nikki-haley-will-give-republican-response-to-state-of-the-union/","name":"South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley Will Give Republican Response to State of the Union"}}]}] ```