Carolina Politics Online

Poor Bubba Gump can’t even break 11% in the latest U.S. Senate poll conducted by Winthrop University. Senator Jim DeMint is up big with58% of the vote while Greene is at 11%.  I wouldn’t be surprised if DeMint ends up breaking 70% on Election Day.  It’s still mystifying as to how Democrats managed to choose Bubba Gump over Vic Rawl.

In the same poll the gubernatorial race between Nikki Haley and Vincent Sheheen has tightened up a bit, which is to be expected as we get closer to Election Day.  Haley leads with 46% over 37% for Sheheen.

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In South Carolina’s gubernatorial race, State Representative Nikki Haley (R) has improved her lead over State Senator Vincent Sheheen (D), now sprinting ahead of him by 17 points.  The poll commissioned by Rasmussen has Haley getting 50% of the vote compared to Sheheen pulling in only 33%.

Heading up to North Carolina, Senator Richard Burr (R) now leads Elaine Marshall (D) by 20 points in the latest poll released by Civitas (They are a Republican pollster).  Burr garners 49% of the vote with Marshall at 29%.  There are still a lot of undecideds and as noted all election season, Burr really isn’t impressive, but as I’ve been saying all year, he’ll get reelected because he’s not a Democrat.

John Rainey, chairman of the Board of Economic Advisors and a member of Gov. Mark Sanford’s inner circle during his first gubernatorial run, wrote a letter to U.S. Attorney William Nettles asking him to investigate Haley’s consulting work with Wilbur Smith Associates and her hiring by the Lexington Medical Center Foundation.

Haley was paid $42,500 between 2007 and 2009, according to Wilbur Smith officials, to refer Lexington County water, sewer and infrastructure work to the firm. Haley worked as a fundraiser for the Lexington Medical Center Foundation form 2008 to 2010, earning $110,000 according to Haley’s state ethics reports.

According to Rainey’s letter, obtained by The State, he thinks Haley’s consulting work may violate federal laws that prohibit public officials from profiting from their office. If she were not a state Representative, Rainey wrote, Wilbur Smith would not have hired Haley.

Read more: The State

One thing is clear, regardless of whether we have Governor Haley or Governor Sheheen next year, South Carolinians can rest assured that their Second Amendment rights will be safe from assault (by the state government, anyway).  Nikki Haley has secured the endorsement of Gun Owners of America which is not surprising.  Republicans tend to fare better with firearm groups than Democrats do, but that’s not to say that Vincent Sheheen is a slouch on the issue.  Sheheen also has a pretty strong record of defending the right to bear arms.

“Few things are as clearly defined as the right of individual Americans to own and use firearms,” Haley said in a statement accompanying her Gun Owners of America endorsement.

“I hold a concealed weapons permit myself, and as governor, I will continue to fight against any government infringement on the Second Amendment,” she said.

Sheheen said that he owns a gun, leads the S.C. Sportsmen’s Caucus and has ties to the National Rifle Association.

“I have repeatedly worked with the NRA to protect the gun ownership rights of South Carolinians,” Sheheen said in a statement. “There is no candidate that is a stronger supporter of Second Amendment rights and as governor, I will make sure the rights of citizens to own guns are never infringed.”

Neither candidate highlighted a specific threat to the public’s right to own firearms.

The August Chronicle

Republican gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley called for term limits on S.C. legislators Thursday as she released a plan that she said would make government more open, accountable and streamlined.

Haley has pushed many of the issues, which include requiring lawmakers to disclose their income and take more on-the-record votes, since she entered the governor’s race last year.

“From day one, our administration will demand accountability and reform across state government,” Haley said.

Haley’s plan would limit lawmakers to no more than eight years in the S.C. House or S.C. Senate, or a total of 12 years service in the General Assembly.

The State

There are a handful of states out there that have term limits imposed on their state legislators. Additionally, most states have limits on how many terms one can serve as governor.

I’ve always been a little iffy about term limits.  We the people are supposed to be the mechanism for term limits.  The idea was that it would be up to us to drain the swamp of politicians who get too powerful or too cozy with the power they hold that they start ignoring their Constitutional duties.  The problem is we aren’t doing the job.

We always hear in the news about a Congressman or member of a state government being referred to as a powerful politician,  Senator So and So, the powerful chairman of the Appropriations Committee.  Well, there aren’t supposed to be powerful politicians and that’s where the problems come from.  Whether it be Washington D.C., Columbia, or Raleigh, one doesn’t become a powerful politicians without selling out their constituency in one form or another.  We live in an age where lawmakers are scratching each others backs for seedy favors and then using our own tax dollars to “bring home the bacon” and buy us off for their reelection.  Term limits would go a long way in aiding to resolve that issue.

Republican state legislator Nikki Haley now earns 52% of the vote in her bid to be the next governor of South Carolina. Democratic State Senator Vincent Sheheen picks up 36% of the vote in the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in the state.

Three percent (3%) prefer some other candidate, while 10% are not sure.

Rasmussen Reports

Makes sense to me

Nikki Haley will attend an Aug. 16 fundraiser in Rock Hill, marking her first visit to York County since winning the GOP gubernatorial nomination.

About 315 people have signed up for the evening reception at the Magnolia Room at Laurel Creek, and tickets are still available, said party chairman Glenn McCall. Prices start at $35 for individuals and $250 for sponsors.

McCall said he’s hearing from many Republicans who have followed Haley’s candidacy but haven’t had an opportunity to see her in person.

The Herald

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Vincent Sheheen has signed a pledge, promising to make an effort to appoint qualified women to senior level positions on state boards and commissions if he is elected.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley declined to sign the pledge.

“I’m not for quotas,” said Sheheen, a state senator from Camden. “I’m not for appointing people who are not qualified. But there are plenty of qualified women out there, and we should make an effort to reach out to all people and include them in the next administration.”

The State

I don’t want somebody appointed to a position because they are a woman.  I don’t want somebody appointed to a position because they are black.  I don’t want somebody appointed to a position because they are white.  What I want is the most qualified person appointed and that should be the only criteria regardless of what they look or whether they have a penis or a vagina.  Identity politics serve only to discriminate and inflame tensions; they don’t unite anyone.

Spokesman Rob Godfrey said Haley a state representative from Lexington County who would be the first woman ever elected S.C. governor if she wins — wants to see more women in public service.

“That said, Nikki is not going to make any pledges in reference to appointments, other than this one — she will always choose the highest qualified person for the job without regard to race or gender,” Godfrey said.

Exactly the way it should be.  Thank you.

GOP gubernatorial nominee Nikki Haley has spent the past two weeks in closed-door meetings with S.C. business leaders, seeking to mend fences and calm fears about her commitment to business in the state.

That is an unusual position for a Republican, whom political observers say is the favorite to be elected governor in November.

Haley’s opponent, state Sen. Vincent Sheheen, D-Kershaw, won the endorsement last month of the S.C. Chamber of Commerce. The chamber, which Haley has described in the past as pro-bailout and pro-big spending, has typically leaned Republican in this Republican-dominated state.

Haley is trying to head off Republican support for Sheheen, who has been courting the business community and positioning himself as the candidate more interested in working with business and the General Assembly on economic development.

At the heart of the business community’s discomfort with Haley is her rocky relationship with the GOP-controlled Legislature. Haley, a House member from Lexington, won the Republican nomination in runaway fashion over seasoned opponents in Attorney General Henry McMaster, U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett and Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, partly by running against the General Assembly.

The State

A candidate who truly believes in the idea of limited government can actually be an anathema to the business community, rather than a welcomed God sent.  The corporate welfare leaches sucking at the government tit have no interest in a politician who will not be keen on the idea of using taxpayer dollars to subsidize their bottom line.  This was something that Governor Sanford rarely would do and corporate beneficiaries of our money are concerned that Haley will play the same kind of hard ball.

As for our state legislators, they are worried first and foremost about protecting their fiefdoms.  They have had a rocky eight years with Sanford who wasn’t afraid to call them out on their bullshit and Haley is likely to follow suit.  How ironic to see a Republican legislature, the party of “limited government”, panicking over the prospects of another four to eight years of a true limited government state CEO.

Democrat Vincent Sheheen has more money than Republican gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley. But Sheheen’s money lead could be fleeting because Haley has momentum.

Haley’s commanding performances in the Republican primary and subsequent runoff, paired with national media exposure, are building her a broad fundraising base that bodes well for her gubernatorial candidacy.

The latest quarterly financial reports show Haley, a Lexington state representative, raised nearly 70 percent of the almost $543,000 that she raised during the April-June quarter on primary day, June 8, and in the weeks that followed.

Haley fell just short of winning the June 8 GOP primary outright. Her strong win and the historic nature of her candidacy — she is an Indian-American woman — have translated into national media attention and nationwide donations, including some large ones from presidential hopefuls.

Meanwhile, Sheheen raised $366,000 during the quarter, trailing Haley by $177,000.

The State

The conventional wisdom among the politicos is that the Republican Party will easily hold the governor’s seat in South Carolina.  Truth be told, it won’t be a walk in the park for Nikki Haley.  Vincent Sheheen is not some token candidate who is just on the ballot to fill the space.  He easily won the primary, defeating an already elected statewide office holder.  He’s ran a positive campaign so far and he is an attractive candidate.  The Republican establishment would be quite foolish to underestimate Sheheen’s ability to steal this race right out from under them if they aren’t careful.

Nikki Haley has been featured on the cover of Newsweek with the headline “The Face of the New South.”  The article inside, entitled “Woman on the Verge,” talks about Haley’s rise to political stardom.

Until, that is, the party’s freshly anointed gubernatorial nominee arrived: Nikki Haley, 38 years old and Indian-American, wearing a snug, saffron-colored suit and stilettos you could impale a small animal with. Only a few months ago, she was an obscure state representative. Then former Alaska governor Sarah Palin endorsed her, the Tea Party movement embraced her, and she proceeded to dispatch a U.S. congressman, the lieutenant governor, and the attorney general in the Republican primary and runoff. Now she’s the hottest thing in South Carolina politics. And if she wins in November, becoming the state’s first female and first nonwhite governor, she’ll likely rocket to national prominence and secure a spot in the GOP firmament.

Comparisons to Palin are inevitable. Haley is attractive and earthy, with a gleaming smile and a steely resolve. While the former Alaska governor often seems tongue-tied and uninformed, Haley comes across as sharp and articulate. She’s remarkably poised for someone fairly new to politics. And she’s a natural at the art of schmoozing. At the Spartanburg fundraiser, she mugged for pictures with new fans, locked eyes intently on those she met, and listened solicitously to the party poohbahs. “I want you to feel good about your governor,” she said to one guest after another, managing to make it sound heartfelt each time. They ate it up. “She brings something new to our party,” said Henry McMaster, the attorney general who lost to her in the primary and later endorsed her, in his introductory remarks. “We have a new leader for the conservative movement in this country, right here in South Carolina.”

Newsweek

There are certainly some similar traits between Haley and Palin as the author suggests.  Both rode to state popularity on the banter of bringing sweeping change to the state government.  Hopefully, Haley will be more successful than Palin was.  While she did manage to get some transparency changes through in Alaska, the attacks she received from the establishment status quo eventually drove her out of office just two years into her term.

The title of the cover portrays the changing face of Republican candidates.  For some time now the GOP has been branded by Democrats as being a party of old white men, because there is evidently something wrong with being a white male and I guess all of us white men are supposed to be ashamed for some reason.  This election season, however, the Republicans have made a concerted effort to get a more racially diverse body of candidates around the country.  Tim Scott will almost certainly be the next Congressman from SC-01 and another black Republican who has a chance of heading to Congress is Lt Col. Allen West, running in Florida’s 22nd District.  Republican candidates leading the top of the ticket in California are both women, running for governor and Senate and in Nevada the top of the Republican ticket is a Hispanic running for governor and another woman taking on Harry Reid for the U.S. Senate.  Whether or not a more diverse body of candidate translates into more votes from minority voters remains to be seen.

Should Haley get elected in November it will be the dawn of a new era in the deep south.  She’ll be the first female governor of the state and the first minority governor and only the second one in the entire south since Reconstruction.  Nonetheless, none of that is overly important.  People should be choosing Haley and the others based on their views, ideas, and character.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in South Carolina shows Haley, the winner of a GOP Primary runoff last Tuesday, with 52% support. Sheheen, a state senator, earns 40% of the vote. Three percent (3%) like some other candidate in the race, and five percent (5%) are still undecided.

Rasmussen Reports

Last night’s run off settled some remaining scores and now that everyone knows who their opponent is, they can begin focusing on the November races.

Elaine Marshall won the Democratic nomination for the U.S.Senate race in North Carolina. She will now face incumbent Republican Richard Burr and Libertarian Michael Beitler.  I rank this race as leaning Republican.

State Representative Nikki Haley handily defeated Congressman Gresham Barrett in the Republican gubernatorial run off for South Carolina.  Haley will now face Democratic State Senator Vincent Sheheen in the fall to determine who will succeed Governor Mark Sanford.  I rank this race as also leaning Republican.  Ken Ard will be Haley’s Lt Governor running mate.

In North Carolina’s 8th Congressional District Republican run off Harold Johnson easily bested Tim D’Annunzio as expected.  D’Annunzio will now have all the time he needs to begin excavating the State of Arizona for the lost Ark of the Convenant.  Johnson will face incumbent Democratic Congressman Larry Kissell and Libertarian Thomas Hill in November.  I rank this race as leaning Democratic.

In North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District Bill Randall defeated Bernie Reeves.  Democrat Brad Miller is the incumbent in this gerrymandered district which covers a small portion of the Triangle and then shoots up to the Virginia border.  This is a D+5 district, so it’s not overwhelmingly Democratic, though I lean this race towards Miller.  Given the political environment this year, however, we could see Randall pull off an upset in November.

In South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District State Representative Tim Scott defeated Paul Thurmond by a huge margin in the Republican run off.  Although Congressman Henry Brown almost lost this seat in 2008, it is still pretty reliably Republican.  Scott is likely to win the November election.

State Representative Jeff Duncan defeated political newcomer Richard Cash by only a three point margin in the Republican run off for South Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District.  This is a solidly Republican seat and we are sure to see Duncan succeed Gresham Barrett in January.

Congressman Bob Inglis became another incumbent to lose reelection in his party’s primary in what’s becoming a long line of incumbent bloodletting all across the country.  Trey Gowdy laid the smackdown on him pretty hard last night.  Like the 3rd, the 4th is solidly Republican and Gowdy will be the next Congressman come January.

Alan Wilson won the Republican run off for South Carolina’s Attorney General race.  The odds favor him to win the general election in November.  Mick Zais won the State Education Superintendent Republican run off and he will face Democrat Frank Holleman in the general.  I rank this race as a toss up.  This is the one statewide seat that the Democrats traditionally seem to be able to capture in this state, probably because Democrats are generally trusted on education issues better than the GOP.  Although, with the political environment favoring the GOP this year more so than normal, Zais could emerge victorious.

In South Carolina’s State House run offs, Doug Brannon ousted one term State Representative Joey Millwood in the 38th House District.  This was an unfortunate result as Brannon supports the failed status quo of public education in this state, where as Millwood was a school choice supporter.  On the other hand, Andy Patrick absolutely pummeled State Representative Richard Chalk in the 123rd so that balances out the Millwood loss.  Democrat Boyd Brown just barely kept his seat in District 41 and Republican Marion Frye hung on to his seat in District 39.

And since I live in York County I always like to weigh on our local races.  Both County Council incumbents in the Republican run off lost their seats.  Eric Winstead defeated Councilman Joe Cox in District 3 and Britt Blackwell beat Buddy Motz in District 6.  David Bowman secured the nomination in District 1, the seat currently held by sleaze bag Paul Lindemann who only managed to get a paltry 12% in the primary election two weeks ago.

9:35pm
It looks pretty certain that Mick Zais has won the State Superintendent run off. That pretty much sums everything up. I’ll write a recap tomorrow.


9:20pm
With 100% reporting in, Jeff Duncan has 51.5% and Richard Cash 48.5% so it appears Duncan is the victor in SC-03.


9:13pm
SC-03 is the last hold out here. With 86% reporting Jeff Duncan leads Richard Cash 53% – 47%. Apparently, the AP feels it’s still too close to call it.


9:09pm
Well, as much as it pains me, I must call the York County Council District 1 run off for David Bowman, not that there’s anything wrong with Bowman, we just really like Kyle Boyd.


9:05pm
Ken Ard has won the Lieutenant Governor run off.


9:03pm
Bill Randall has defeated Bernie Reeves in North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District run off.


9:02pm
Harold Johnson has defeated Tim D’Annunzio in North Carolina’s 8th Congressional District run off.


9:00pm

8:57pm

8:55pm

8:51pm
Not looking good for Kyle Boyd. :sigh:


8:47pm
South Carolina State Representative Richard Chalk has lost reelection in the 123rd House District.


8:45pm
Tim Scott has won the Republican run off for South Carolina’s First Congressional District.


8:45pm
Alan Wilson has won the Republican Attorney General run off.


8:43pm
York County Councilmen Joe Cox and Buddy Motz have both lost their run off elections.


8:39pm
Congressman Bob Inglis has lost reelection. Oh happy day!


8:37pm

8:35pm
Elaine Marshall has won the Democratic nomination for North Carolina’s U.S. Senate race.


8:28pm
Nikki Haley has won the Republican run off for governor!


8:21pm

8:13pm

8:03pm

7:56pm

7:53pm

7:48pm

The polls have closed in South Carolina. They will close in North Carolina at 7:30. I will be updating the results as they come in.

Today is the run off for both states’ primaries.  I don’t think we’re going to see any surprises today in any of the races.  Celtic already weighed on North Carolina.  Here are my thoughts for South Carolina tonight.

In the gubernatorial race Nikki Haley is going to win this hands down.  I don’t think anybody in the political world anywhere is expecting otherwise.  Haley will bring the necessary reform needed to Columbia.  I’ll be voting for her today and I have confidence she will be our next governor.

In the First Congressional district I see Charleston State Representative Tim Scott emerging as the winner this evening.  Scott almost doubled the amount of votes that Thurmond received in the primary and he seems to have the momentum behind him.

The Third Congressional race is a tough one to guess.  Both State Representative Jeff Duncan and Richard Cash finished pretty close in the primary.  I think this could teeter either way, but my hopes are on Duncan.  He has a proven record of fiscal responsibility in Columbia.

In the Fourth Congressional district I think Bob Inglis will be singing his swan song tonight.  It would be quite remarkable for an incumbent who faced several challenges last term and then finished second in this term’s election and forced into a run off to end up winning.  Inglis blew it when he embraced climate change legislation, which would shackle the American economy.  With real unemployment in the teens, this is a kick in the ass we don’t need.  Inglis’s district doesn’t support this nonsense and he forgot that he was sent to Washington to represent the voters, not his personal superstitions.   Trey Gowdy will prevail this evening.

For the State Education Superintendent I’ll be voting for Mick Zais and I also think he will emerge as the winner tonight.  I like Zais’s proposal to bring discipline back into the classroom.  God, is that ever needed.  I had actually considered becoming a teacher when I was younger, but then realized that with my disposition I would end up back handing some kid who smarted off to me in class and then I’d get fired and probably sued by his rotten parents, so I chose a different path in life, that of political agitator.

Additionally, we have some incumbent state representatives who are hoping to hang on tonight.  State Representatives Joey Millwood (R-Landrum), Marion Frye (R-Leesville), Boyd Brown (D-Winnsboro) and Richard Chalk (R-Hilton Head Island) were all forced into today’s run off.   Also here in York County I am pulling for Kyle Boyd to win the First County Council district and for Britt Blackwell to overthrow Buddy Motz in the Sixth.

U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett, who faces state Rep. Nikki Haley in a runoff June 22 for the GOP nomination, said he believes South Carolina needs to be tough on illegal immigration.

“The Obama administration has failed to enforce our federal immigration laws, and as governor, Gresham Barrett will stand up for South Carolina’s Tenth Amendment rights,” Barrett’s campaign spokeswoman Erin Ingraham said in a statement. “Gresham will ensure the laws already on the books will be stringently enforced — and will also push to pass an Arizona-style immigration plan right here at home.”

Haley said the state needs to take action but officials must be practical.

“Laws are only as good as our ability to enforce them,” she said in a statement. “In order to enforce illegal immigration reform in this state, we have to fund the prosecution of the laws we passed and give Reggie Lloyd and his staff the resources they need.

“Governing effectively is all about prioritizing how we spend taxpayer dollars and making sure that the laws we pass are actually working for the people of this state — right now, that’s not happening, but as the reform movement that’s sweeping South Carolina continues to grow, it will.”

The Democrats’ nominee, state Sen. Vincent Sheheen, said the solution to illegal immigration issues goes hand in hand with enforcing the law that bars employers from using illegal labor, said Trav Robertson, Sheheen’s campaign spokesman.

“When companies and businesses really understand that there are penalties for hiring illegal immigrants, then we can help eliminate that problem,” Robertson said.

The Post and Courier

All three candidates seem to have the right ideas on handling illegal immigration, since the Feds refuse to do their job.  I’m not entirely opposed to Barrett’s idea of an Arizona type law here in South Carolina, however, I do worry about the potential of abuse by law enforcement with such a law.  Once Arizona’s law goes into effect we can get a better idea of how problematic that may or may not be.

Haley is correct too.  Laws don’t matter worth squat if the resources don’t exist to enforce them.  The question remains then, where are we going to get the funding to enforce a major crack down on illegals?  State services have been cut out of the budget left and right for the past two years since the recession started.

Vincent Sheheen actually has the most practical solution and one that I’ve advocated over and over.  If illegal immigrants can’t work, guess what?  They’ll leave.  That’s really what it comes down to.  If the state makes it incredibly painful for a business owner to get caught knowingly employing illegal immigrants then they’ll stop hiring them and the illegals will leave and either go back to where they came from or head up to North Carolina.