WASHINGTON - Republican Nikki Haley, an American of Indian origin, won the governorship of the US state of South Carolina, defeating the candidate of President Barack Obama's Democratic Party in the nationwide mid-term elections on Tuesday. Born as Nimrata Randhawa to Sikh parents who migrated from Indian Punjab, Haley created history by becoming the first woman to occupy the governor's mansion of South Carolina. She is the second India-American to be a Governor of a US State after Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, who was elected in 2007. Piyush Subhas Chandra Amrit (now "Bobby" Jindal) also hails from Indian Punjab and has been mentioned as a possible Republican nominee for Presidential elections in 2012. Their rise in American political system is a huge gain for India. Rajiv Shah, also an Indian, is a the current head of US agency for International Development (USAID), while Rashed Hussain, an Indian Muslim, is Obama's enjoy to the Organization of The Islamic Conference (OIC). There are millions of Indians in the United States and their children are particularly rated as good, hardworking students and they are making their mark in all fields, especially in IT. According to the unofficial results Ms. Haley, 38, got 52% as against her Democratic rival Vincent Sheehan who polled 46%. Ms. Haley converted to Christianity in 1997 and she attends a Methodist church and occasionally goes to Sikh services at her parents request. She is married to Michael Haley, an officer in US defence department. Haley told NBC's "Today" show Wednesday she already was picking up momentum in the Republican primary when Sarah Palin came to Columbia to endorse her. But Haley says it's too soon to say she would back Palin for president in 2012.