Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley's husband, Michael, will deploy to Africa for a year with the South Carolina Army National Guard. He will be gone during a critical portion of his wife's 2024 campaign.
In a statement provided to the Washington Examiner by a spokesperson, Nikki Haley said, “Our family, like every military family, is ready to make personal sacrifices when our loved one answers the call. We could not be prouder of Michael and his military brothers and sisters. Their commitment to protecting our freedom is a reminder of how blessed we are to live in America.”
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The Washington Examiner understands that the South Carolina National Guard made a call this spring for officers with Michael Haley's particular skill set to deploy to assist with the U.S. Africa Command.
He is expected to remain deployed through the spring of 2024 and will likely return in the home stretch of Nikki Haley's presidential campaign.
Michael Haley joined the South Carolina National Guard in 2006, first deploying in January 2013, halfway through his wife's gubernatorial term. During that deployment, he and his unit were part of an agricultural support team that assisted farmers in Afghanistan. Their goal was to help them begin growing profitable crops other than opium to strengthen their communities.
At the time of that deployment, their children were 10 and 14.
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“He left me as a single mom governor, but we’re still married," the presidential candidate reportedly said of her husband's Afghanistan deployment at a recent campaign event.
Nikki Haley, who announced her bid for the White House in February, is polling at 4% in a hypothetical 2024 Republican primary, according to Morning Consult. She is currently in fourth place behind former Vice President Mike Pence (5%), Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) (22%), and front-runner former President Donald Trump (56%).