On the campaign trail, Haley’s time in South Carolina is both an asset and a liability

In 2008, Nikki Haley was a woman on the rise.

She was a two-term South Carolina state representative and a Republican majority whip, and she was considering running to chair an influential committee. Then, after her fellow lawmakers voted to grant themselves raises by voice vote, she became the face of an unpopular — but ultimately successful — push to mandate roll call votes for key issues.

For her legislative career, it was a death blow. She lost her leadership position, was demoted to a new committee and was shunned by fellow lawmakers.

“Long story short, when I refused to put the bill away, and when I went around the state telling [voters] what was going on with voice votes, they stripped me of everything,” Haley said at a recent town hall in Rye, New Hampshire. “So I ran for governor.”

After she won, one of the first bills she signed cemented on-the-record voting. Pat Benatar’s “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” played over the Statehouse loudspeakers.

The story is a staple of her stump speech. As her rivals seek to paint her as a moderate, a flip-flopper or an establishment figure beholden to donors, Haley has drawn from her time in South Carolina to portray herself as someone with a tea party background who speaks “hard truths” and takes on tough fights — and who often wins.

But as Haley’s political star has risen, her record in South Carolina has received more attention. Her response to a question about the origins of the Civil War brought up her history of trying to navigate race relations and satisfy both sides of the Confederate flag debate.

Detractors — from former allies to primary opponents — have argued that she strayed from her tea party roots over the course of her governorship and have latched onto her past comments on the state gas tax, transgender bathroom bills, and recruiting…