Gov. Haley to headline NRCC dinner

Gov. Nikki Haley (R-S.C.) will keynote the National Republican Congressional Committee’s 2012 fundraising dinner, the committee announced Friday. The annual dinner will be held March 20 at the National Building Museum.

“Gov. Haley has quickly proven her ability to stand up to Washington Democrats’ job-destroying agenda and to fight for Republican solutions for prosperity,” NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions (R-Texas) said in announcing the details of the dinner. “As a rising leader in the Republican Party, Gov. Haley represents a dynamic voice for effectively communicating the Republican will to win in 2012 to rebuild the American Dream.”

But Democrats quickly pointed out that the NRCC is featuring a governor beleaguered by her own problems at home. Haley had a 34 percent approval rating in South Carolina in a December poll from Winthrop University.

She was elected in 2010, and has recently become one of Mitt Romney’s most visible campaign-trail surrogates.

The NRCC said it raised $10 million in 2011 from its annual dinner, the largest fundraiser it holds each year. Republican Reps. Candice Miller (Mich.), Bill Shuster (Pa.) and John Sullivan (Okla.) will serve as co-chairmen of this year’s dinner.