Haley Campaign Press Release - Senator Bill Gannon: Haley Has the Experience and Character to be President

CONCORD, N.H. — Ahead of Nikki Haley filing for the New Hampshire primary ballot this week in Concord, State Senator Bill Gannon published an op-ed in the Union Leader endorsing Nikki Haley for president. Senator Gannon says our "next president will need experience, a clear-eyed understanding of what's at stake, and good character." Read his full piece below.

Union Leader by Senator Bill Gannon

IN New Hampshire, we take our role as the first in the nation primary seriously. We relish the opportunity to see candidates up-close and grill them on topics big and small. We want to meet them not once — but multiple times.

This is how it should be. America faces big challenges. At home, we are beset by a porous border, crushing inflation, and rising crime. On the international front, our enemies are emboldened, and fentanyl flows freely from China and Mexico, killing hundreds of Granite Staters each year.

Our next president will need experience, a clear-eyed understanding of what's at stake, and good character. That's why I'm proud to endorse former South Carolina Governor and UN Ambassador Nikki Haley. She is the leader our party and country needs.

Haley's experience runs the gamut. In the private sector, she helped run her family's business and understands how hard it is for Americans to make a dollar and how easy it is for the government to take and spend it.

As a state legislator and governor, she took on the big-government, big-spending establishment in both parties. She was a "jobs governor" who turned a double-digit unemployment state into a manufacturing powerhouse. Under her leadership, South Carolina became one of the top states to live, work, and raise a family.

As America faces a full-blown border crisis thanks to Joe Biden's incompetence, Nikki has a plan to fix it steeped in her experience as governor. Early in her first term, Haley signed one of the toughest bills in the country tackling illegal immigration. As president, she will implement a national E-Verify program to make sure American jobs go to Americans, fire Joe Biden's new IRS agents and hire 25,000 new Border Patrol and ICE agents, and stop handouts to illegal immigrants—including defunding sanctuary cities.

Nikki knows our security doesn't end at our border. American families must feel safe in their homes and communities. A culture of attacking law enforcement has turned our cities into havens for looters and criminals. As governor, Nikki had the backs of law enforcement, raising their pay and recruiting more officers to handle the workload. I know she will support law enforcement as president and promote a culture that punishes criminals and rewards law enforcement—not the other way around.

As ambassador to the United Nations, Haley stood side-by-side with our allies and went toe-to-toe with our enemies. Her foreign policy experience gives me comfort as America deals with increasing aggression from Russia, China, and Iran. She knows that dictators don't respond to weakness. Give Xi Jinping an inch, and he'll take a mile.

Nikki has a comprehensive plan to combat Communist China. It starts with ending normal trade relations with China if it doesn't stop killing Americans with fentanyl poison and getting China out of our schools, farms, and businesses.

Nikki also understands that supporting Ukraine against Russia is key to preventing escalation in Eastern Europe. My dad, a World War II veteran, always underscored the importance of learning from history, and history teaches us that caving to Russia will only make Russia more likely to invade other countries. Just as concerning, a weak America will make China, Iran, and North Korea's day.

It's clear to me that Nikki has the domestic and foreign policy experience to tackle America's challenges head-on and move our country forward from the drama of the past. But experience is only part of the equation.

I am also supporting Nikki Haley because she is a leader my children can look up to. A self-made daughter of legal immigrants who lived the American Dream, she knows how important it is to safeguard that dream for future generations. As governor she brought people together when tragedy struck her state. She is the rare leader who looks for ways to unite people instead of dividing them.

Throughout her life, Nikki has worn many hats. She is the daughter of immigrants, the wife of a combat veteran, the mother of two children, a former governor, a UN ambassador who negotiated with the world's dictators and didn't flinch, and an unapologetic patriot who believes even on our worst day, we are blessed to live in America.

Nikki is tough—we all saw that in the recent debates—but she is also unrelentingly optimistic about the American people. She will never give up on us. That's a winning formula in next November's election—and for the future of this great country.