A poll conducted last week by Rasmussen of the Republican gubernatorial primary in South Carolina shows Henry McMaster the current favorite. Out of the four candidates he leads with 21% of the vote. He also has the highest favorable ratings. Lt Governor Andre Bauer comes in second with 17% of the vote, yet ironically has the highest unfavorable ratings by a mile with 21% of respondents viewing him very unfavorably and 22% somewhat unfavorably.
Nikki will be in Rock Hill this Wednesday, March 3rd speaking at Winthrop University. The event will be held at Barnes Recital Hall, 855 Ebenezer Avenue, Rock Hill, SC 29733. It starts at 8 p.m. and is open to everyone.
I would love to go this event and I’ll even be at Winthrop at that time, but I’ll be in class. If you can make the time, however, I recommend stopping by and listening to Haley speak. She’s got good ideas to take our state forward.
Erick Erickson from the conservative organization RedState wrote a piece this morning explaining why it’s futile for grassroots conservatives within the Republican Party to depend on conservative party “leaders” to make the first move in getting behind a quality candidate. He cites Nikki Haley’s candidacy as an example.
In Pennsylvania, again Jim DeMint showed real leadership. He came out for Pat Toomey when everybody else went with Specter. Now it looks like Toomey has a serious shot at winning. Conservatives took real risks in going with Toomey. But with that great risk is coming a great reward.
That’s not happening so much any more.
In South Carolina, Nikki Haley struggles to get momentum. Republicans like Sarah Palin and others could come in and endorse her. But then if she loses these potential 2012 Presidential candidates might have to face a South Carolina Governor who they didn’t endorse. But Haley is the one who is most right on the most issues. She is the dream candidate with the compelling narrative.
I don’t know that I’d consider Sarah Palin to be a grassroots conservative leader considering that she required a $100,000 fee to be a speaker at the recent national tea party event in Nashville, but conservatives around the country seem to have an infatuation with her. Her example aside, I do agree with Erickson when it comes to Nikki Haley. Of all candidates on both sides of the aisle Haley is the one I am most confident in when it comes to bringing this state forward and achieving positive results. The fact that RedState has endorsed her candidacy tells me that she should be the ideal candidate for most conservatives as well, yet leaders of the conservative movement are MIA when it comes to getting out in public and pushing her candidacy to Republican primary voters. Is Erickson correct in his assessment that Republican presidential wannabees are reluctant to weigh in on the gubernatorial race due to a fear of not backing the eventual winning candidate and losing support of the future governor of the first in the south primary come 2012? After all, historically the Republican candidate that has won the South Carolina presidential primary has gone on to win the party nomination at the convention.
A true principled leader would certainly not let politics sway their voice. As Erickson pointed out, political convenience did not stop Senator DeMint from publicly stating that he would not back the reelection of an incumbent seeking reelection in his own party. That, my friends, is true leadership, so where are the movement “leaders” for Haley?
The porkulus bill is pretty much an issue of the past at this point, but my thoughts on it are this. If the money would have never been spent at all had we not taken it, then it should have been refused. It was a complete waste of money by the Federal government and its had next to no effect whatsoever in helping the economy recover. All it has done is add to our incredibly high debt. However, if the money would have just been reallocated to another state, which was the case, then we should have accepted it. If it’s going to be spent anyway it may as well be spent here. Ultimately, the state legislature forced Sanford to accept the money, so that is that.
Is Haley trying to have it both ways? I guess that’s up to you to decide.
Despite the vote, Haley said she has been consistently against the federal money. After the vote, Haley said she spoke with the offices of Sanford and U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint who assured her the state could reject the money. Haley later voted against final passage of the stimulus-boosted state budget.
“Everybody knows I was against it,” she said. “I’m the only one that can consistently say that.”
These grades are calculated based on specific key votes in the state legislature that promote responsible economic growth throughout the State of South Carolina. Certain votes are weighed more than others based on their impact. All of the 13 Senate and 24 House members who scored a C- or better were Republicans. I have them listed below:
Senate
Lee Bright (R-Roebuck) A+
Kevin Bryant (R-Anderson) A+
Mick Mulvaney (R-Indian Land) A+
Greg Ryberg (R-Aiken) A+
Tom Davis (R-Beaufort) A
Mike Rose (R-Summerville) B+
Phil Shoopman (R-Greer) B+
Shane Martin (R-Spartanburg) C+
Ray Cleary (R-Murrells Inlet) C-
House
Eric Bedingfield (R-Mauldin) A
Joey Milwood (R-Landrum) A
Rex Rice (R-Easley) A
Jeff Duncan (R-Clinton) A
Nikki Haley (R-Lexington) A
Tommy Stringer (R-Landrum) A
Tim Scott (R-North Charleston) A-
Nathan Ballentine (R-Irmo) A-
Wendy Nanney (R-Greenville) A-
Thad Viers (R-Myrtle Beach) A-
Ted Pitts (R-Lexington) B+
Michael Thompson (R-Anderson) B
Dan Hamilton (R-Taylors) B
Garry Smith (R-Simpsonville) B
Tom Young (R-Aiken) C+
Chip Huggins (R-Columbia) C+
Jim Stewart (R-Aiken) C
Mark Willis (R-Fountain Inn) C
Mac Toole (R-West Columbia) C
Kris Crawford (R-Florence) C
Deborah Long (R-Indian Land) C-
Murrell Smith (R-Sumter) C-
Let’s take a look at the leadership of the general assembly, shall we?
House Speaker Bobby Harrell (R) – A big fat F!
Speaker Pro Tempore Harry Cato (R) – A big fat F!
House Majority Leader Kenny Bingham (R) – A big fat F!
Senate President Pro Tempore Glenn McConnell (R) – A big fat F!
Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler (R) – A big fat F!
Well, it’s really no wonder why South Carolina’s economy is one of the worst in the nation when our state’s leadership is steering us right over a cliff, is it? South Carolina may be a reliably Republican state, but if I were a member of the state Republican leadership be it in the general assembly or the state party, I’d take a warning from what is happening in the U.S. Senate race in Massachusetts right now. In one of the most Democrat states in the nation, a Republican is on course to win the U.S. Senate seat that was just vacated by the death of Massachusetts icon Democrat Ted Kennedy. This is a state with only 15% of its state legislature comprised of Republicans and the last time that state elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate was in 1972 and he was incredibly liberal for a Republican. My point is that the folks up there are sick and tired of the corruption and incompetence of the Democrat Party that dominates their state and has for decades. Don’t think the same thing can’t and won’t happen here with the GOP in South Carolina if they don’t start delivering what the people of this state are expecting from them.
As for the 37 members of the Republican caucus above who are at least partially working to improve the economic prowess of our state in these difficult times, they need to go a step further. Their efforts are fruitless if they allow our state government to continue to be ran by the likes of the self-serving Bobby Harrell and Glenn McConnell. These two and the other noted above need to be voted out of the leadership. They are ineffective and not willing to do what is necessary to move this state forward.
A poll released by Inside Advantage shows the current match up for this year’s gubernatorial elections in South Carolina. The numbers weren’t too surprising, but there was one ranking that stood out. Gresham Barrett is tanking. As I predicted a year ago, his Wall Street bailout vote was political suicide.
If the Republican gubernatorial primary were held today, the results would be as follows: Henry McMaster and Andre Bauer would tie with 22%, Nikki Haley would follow with 13%, Barrett is fourth with 9%, and Larry Grooms brings up the anchor with 6%. 28% are undecided at this point in time.
On the Democrat side of the aisle, Jim Rex leads with 21% followed by Dwight Drake with 15%. Vincent Sheheen comes in third with 8% and Robert Ford and Mullins McLeod trail each with 6%. The undecideds are much higher among Democrats, 44%.
No general election match up was done yet to see how who would fair against who.
As the next campaign for governor in our state continues to move forward, State Representative Nikki Haley is getting more and more high profile attention from the major media and players throughout the state. In addition to this article in The Washington Post, she has also been written about in Politico and endorsed by Jenny Sanford, among others. Take a few minutes to read the article by Kathleen Parker and then visit Haley’s Web site and read about her ideas to take our state forward.
Jenny Sanford, the wife of embattled South Carolina governor Mark Sanford, has endorsed GOP state Rep. Nikki Haley in the race to replace her term-limited husband.
South Carolina’s first lady made the announcement in a fundraising letter to Haley’s supporters.
“When I’m asked my wish for South Carolina’s future, my wish is for a leader of state government like Nikki Haley. She’s principled, conservative, tough and smart,” Sanford wrote in the letter. “I am strongly supporting Nikki Haley for governor, and I hope you will, too.”
Jenny Sanford has been a behind-the-scenes power player in the state for years, serving as an effective surrogate for her husband during his administration.
This is a powerful endorsement for Nikki Haley and one of many more that I hope to hear about. Haley is the only candidate I see running on either side of the aisle that is committed to fiscal responsibility and limited government. I think with Jenny Sanford’s endorsement, this will raise Haley’s profile among several other leaders within the Republican Party around the state.
It’s always a privilege to have a candidate come visit us in York County because so few do despite the fact we are one of the fastest growing counties in the state. Tonight I had the pleasure of being able to meet State Representative Nikki Haley, the woman I am supporting to be our next governor here in South Carolina. She gave a great speech and entertained many thoughtful questions from the audience. Her answers only reinforced why I am supporting her candidacy.
On tax reform she wishes to eliminate the small business income tax and the personal income tax in order to spur investment in the state by attracting more businesses and people. To address our current and possible future deficits, she intends to audit every state agency to weed our waste and institute spending caps on the state government, much like the workings of Colorado’s TABOR (Taxpayer Bill of Rights).
She addressed the issues of education and unemployment. South Carolina needs to put a larger focus on technical schools around the state so that unemployed residents and non-college bound adults can get trained in skilled professions that pay well. Such an initiative will bring manufacturing jobs back to our state and lower unemployment in some of the poorest counties in our state, like Allendale, Chester, etc.
What struck me the most, however, was her commitment to Federalism and pushing back against the dangerous growth of government we have been seeing in Washington D.C. for several years now. Haley intends to put together a coalition of governors from around the country who will stand shoulder to shoulder and fight the unconstitutional and unfunded mandates being forced on the states by the Federal government. Ah, this was music to my ears. I’ve always gotten frustrated by the fact that the states will bellyache about being bullied by the Feds, but never do anything about it. I’ve always thought how easy it would be to stop this unconstitutional infringement of the Tenth Amendment by just a dozen or so governors getting together and saying, “You know what? We’re not going to do it!” The publicity it would garner and the support from the American people it would spark would be effective.
Nikki Haley has proven to be a reformer in the state legislature so when she says she is committed to these ideals I believe her. She has walked the walk. She is up against some strong competition in the primary, but she has proven to not be small potatoes herself. I think she can succeed in this endeavor and become a governor that will be responsible to the people of this state.
Social networking sites have gotten big in recent years and are playing a big role in political campaigns at all levels. If you’re interested in following Nikki Haley’s gubernatorial campaign on social networking sites here are some links:
The Republican committees of Newberry and Laurens Counties are hosting the first gubernatorial debate for the 2010 election season. It will be a debate of the five current and potential Republican gubernatorial candidates and will be broadcast via the Web at www.wistv.com. People across the state can submit questions via YouTube to www.NewberryGOP.com.
The debate will begin at 7:00pm at the Newberry Opera House and tickets are $25 per person and available from both county Republican committees.
Participating candidates are:
• Congressman Gresham Barrett
• Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer
• Sen. Larry Grooms
• Rep. Nikki Haley
• Attorney General Henry McMaster
Politico ran an article pointing out the broad array of diverse candidates running as Republicans this year across the country. There are several Republican women running for governor and U.S. Senate seats and a few black Republican candidates running for the Senate as well. One of our gubernatorial candidates, Nikki Haley (R-Lexington) received a couple short paragraphs of mention.
State Rep. Nikki Haley, an Indian American running for governor of South Carolina, echoed that rhetoric.
“I’m the daughter of immigrant parents that reminded us every day, the value of the opportunity to live in this country,” she said.
Like Martinez, Haley said she’s skeptical that people will vote for her because of her gender or ethnicity. But, she noted, “I think that of course I can connect with people based on my life experiences, whether that’s being a wife, whether that’s being a mom, whether that’s being an accountant.”
While Haley may be a woman and of Indian decent, I disagree that she is part of any organized racial diversity push for the Republican Party. To my knowledge, the establishment never approached her to run. She was encouraged by friends and others around the state who took note of her willingness to buck the status quo in Columbia and demand accountability and reform. It is for those reasons alone that she can be a successful candidate for governor. Her gender and race are not important.
I believe Nikki Haley is the best candidate out of all running in both the Republican and Democrat parties running for governor next year who will be dedicated to the true American ideal of limited government. She’s proven herself to be an effective fund raiser and a top tier candidate in the gubernatorial race so far. As you know it takes money to mount a strong, functional campaign and Haley’s team has an online fund raiser going on for the next month and a half:
It is time for the Team Haley Online Fundraiser Kickoff!Get 10 people to donate $25, $50, $100 or more by September 25th, and then join Nikki for our first Team Haley Celebration.
The rules of the challenge are simple:
1.Find 10 folks to log onto the website and donate $25, $50, $100 or more by September 25th, 2009.Make sure that your referrals put your name in the “Referred By” box on the contribute page.That is the only way we will be keeping track of who gets their 10 folks signed up!
2.On Saturday, October 3rd, we will have our first Team Haley Celebration for all who get 10 folks to donate!The 10 friends you get to donate will also be invited (details to follow)!
3.If you are the person raising the most money by September 25th, 2009 you and a guest will be invited to join Nikki and her husband Michael at a Clemson or Carolina home game (your preference).
Donations will be funneled through the website by accessing this link:
Again, once your referrals are filling out their information and making their donation, remind them to put your name in the “Referred By” box so that we can keep track of your donation progress!
As always, please do not hesitate to call or email me with questions!Thank you and let’s make this challenge the most successful yet!
Thanks!
I encourage you to donate to Nikki Haley’s gubernatorial campaign, even if you can only afford $5 or $10. Remember, President Obama raised a ton of money by millions of Americans giving small donations. Help make Nikki Haley the next governor of South Carolina!
