Nikki Haley would say 'thank you, but no' if offered VP slot

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley closed the door on the possibility of being the GOP’s vice presidential pick this year.

"I'd say, 'Thank you, but no’ [if asked],” Haley told ABC News in an interview airing Tuesday on “Nightline.”

"I made a promise to the people of this state. And I think that promise matters. And I intend to keep it,” Haley continued. Haley took office last year. "This is what I want to do … So do I want to think about anything in the future? No.”

On ABC's "Good Morning America," Haley said she would not even consider being VP if asked, saying she has "no interest at all." She also had high praise for Mitt Romney's wife, Ann. "He has a very strong woman at his side," she said.

But when questioned, she added in the "Nightline" interview that she might consider running for the top of the ticket sometime in the future. “That’s not anything I can imagine [but] I don't know. I mean, life has surprised me constantly," she said.

A Tea Party favorite and a rising star in the Republican Party, Haley endorsed Mitt Romney before her state primary in January. Romney did not win the vote, but Haley said she had warned the GOP presidential candidate in advance that South Carolinians are independent people who make up their own minds.

Haley went on to defend female Republicans, who have taken an extraordinary level of heat in the last month due to a heated debate over contraception. Democrats have accused Republicans of waging a “war on women” due to their opposition to the White House’s contraception insurance mandate. 

"The public likes to think that women only care about contraception," Haley said. “We're so much smarter and broader than that."

As one of only a handful of female governors, Haley also noted that she has learned to use her gender to her own advantage. "I wear heels," she said, calling it more “ammunition” than “fashion statement.”

--This post was updated at 10:18 a.m.

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