Carolina Politics Online

The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste is a taxpayer watchdog group that for years has been tracking and monitoring the wasteful spending being undertaken by our members of Congress. When I say waste I mean real waste, things that most all of us regardless of political ideology and views could likely agree on. Wasted spending like $1,454,000 for mosquito trapping research or $2,573,000 for potato research. Better yet, right here in our own backyard, UNC Charlotte received $762,000 for interactive dance software.

CAGW has a searchable database containing the 9,129 pork-barrel projects in the 2010 Congressional Pig Book. They also do a ranking of every member of Congress with a score of 100 indicating a taxpayer superhero and a score of 0 being a wasteful taxpayer abuser. Unfortunately, here in the Carolinas we have several big fat zeros. That list is below:

COLUMBIA — Conservatives in U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson’s district are facing facts: They’re angry that he voted for the 2008 Wall Street bailout, but they know opposing him could send his Democratic opponent to Congress.

Exhibit A is GOP gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley, who declared in April that Wilson should “absolutely not” get another term but said Thursday that she now supports his re-election.

“This is about electing the most conservative candidate,” Haley spokesman Rob Godfrey said. “In November, Congressmen Wilson is clearly the most conservative of those two candidates.”

Wilson, best known for shouting “you lie” last year while President Barack Obama was addressing Congress, is in a rematch against Democrat Rob Miller.

Wilson beat him two years ago with 54 percent of the vote, and this year’s contest is one of the nation’s most expensive U.S. House races, mostly because of the money that poured in to him and Miller after Wilson taunted Obama. Wilson’s most recent campaign finance report, filed May 19, shows he’s raised nearly $4 million while Miller has raised nearly $2.4 million. Their next reports are due next week.

Jane Kenny, organizer of the Tea Party Patriots of Bluffton at the foot of Wilson’s district near Beaufort and Hilton Head Island, said there’s no question that tea party activists are unhappy about Wilson’s bailout vote.

But, she said, “at this point in time we have a choice between Mr. Miller and Mr. Wilson. Mr. Miller is telling us he supports the Obama agenda, so by default, Wilson is our man.”

The Post and Courier

I don’t think Joe Wilson has a whole lot to worry about.  Unlike Barrett, who in my opinion ended his political career when he voted for the bailout, I agree that Wilson will escape the fury.  The first point is what Ms Kenny already stated.  If you are a conservative or even a moderate in Wilson’s district and your alternative to Wilson is a candidate who supports the incredibly unpopular Obama agenda, who are you going to vote for?  You’re going to vote for Wilson.

Second, as much as his behavior at the State of the Union address helped fuel Rob Miller’s candidacy, ironically it may have actually saved Wilson.  While he took a lot of flack over the “You lie!” outburst, people are realizing he was right.  Obama is a liar.  He marketed himself as this enlightened politically centrist figure who could bridge the gap between an increasingly divided America.  In actuality he’s become more polarizing than George Bush and he turned out to be the radical leftist that smart people like me knew he would be.

Right now, Democrat is a dirty word.  We’re in a total 180 from where we were politically the last two election cycles.  The momentum has been and I think will continue to be behind the GOP all the way up to Election Day and that will put Wilson over the finish line regardless of the mistakes he’s made.

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.

HEALTH-CARE MANDATE: Voting 187 for and 230 against, the House on June 15 defeated a GOP bid to use HR 5486 (above) as a vehicle for repealing the new health law’s requirement that individuals who can afford it obtain medical insurance either at work or in a state-run exchange. The purpose of the individual mandate is to hold down everybody’s health costs by establishing the largest possible pool of insured persons. Critics say the mandate is oppressive because those without coverage will face financial penalties. At least 20 states have filed suits challenging the requirement.

The Herald-Journal

The Democrats in Congress continue to sustain the unconstitutional health insurance mandate that President Obama said during his campaign he would never support and criticized both Hillary Clinton and John Edwards for proposing such an idea.  Another one of this long list of lies.  With the exception of Congressmen Mike McIntyre (NC-07) and Heath Shuler (NC-11), every Democrat in both North and South Carolina voted to keep this oppressive and un-American mandate in place.

Every Republican voted against keeping the mandate with the exception of three who were not present to vote:  Henry Brown (SC-01), Gresham Barrett (SC-03), and Bob Inglis (SC-04).  I imagine Barrett and Inglis were too busy trying to save their political asses while Brown, well, he is retiring so maybe he just doesn’t give a damn anymore.

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.

U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett said he will not concede the Republican gubernatorial nomination before the June 22nd runoff, though he faces an uphill battle to defeat front-runner Nikki Haley.

Haley, a Lexington state representative, nearly won the GOP nomination outright Tuesday, garnering more than twice the number of votes as the second-place Barrett of Westminster.

Though South Carolina has a history of come-from-behind runoff victories — U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint in 2004 and Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer in 2006, both Republicans — observers said the odds are against Barrett.

“If it’s 10 points, it’s one thing. But it’s 27 points. I just don’t see it,” said Greenville-based political consultant Chip Felkel of Haley’s 49-22 margin Tuesday. “He’s in it for the long haul, but it’s a long, long haul.”

The State

I didn’t expect Barrett to bow out and that’s fine.  He doesn’t have to.  The man if well within his rights to push through to the run off.  I agree with the consultants, though.  Barring some scandal that can actually be proven, Haley will win the nomination.

I read an interesting article on CNN today.  Apparently, Gresham Barrett is being pressured to drop out of the gubernatorial race and forego a run off election with Nikki Haley, thus handing her the nomination.

Haley must now face Rep. Gresham Barrett in a runoff scheduled to take place in two weeks. But there is pressure already on Barrett to leave the race. The Republican Governors Association issued a strongly worded statement Tuesday night congratulating Haley.

“The voters of South Carolina made a clear choice in Nikki Haley, notwithstanding the possibility of a runoff,” RGA Executive Director Nick Ayers said. “The outcome is all but certain.

“Nikki Haley withstood a barrage of innuendoes and slurs in the closing days of the primary season and persevered to the finish with dignity, determination and confidence.

“Moreover, receiving half of the votes against two other statewide incumbent Republicans and a sitting Congressman speaks volumes of her strength as a candidate and bodes very well for her in the General Election. We congratulate Nikki for her grit and determination.”

CNN

It would make sense.  Haley received over 48% of the vote while Barrett got only slightly over 21%.  The odds of him prevailing in a run off contest with her are not in his favor and it would save the Republican Party some cash if Haley could eliminate two weeks of continuous primary campaigning.

On the other hand, there are still the affair allegations out there and there is always a chance that some kind of damaging proof could arise and that could benefit Barrett if it happens in the next two weeks.  I suppose that’s a risk he could take, but conventional wisdom at this point seems to point those allegations as being fraudulent smear tactics.  The voters evidently don’t believe them.

Should Barrett stay in or gracefully exit?

There were no real surprises in the big races last night.  The elections pretty much came down the way the recent polling said it would.

In the Republican gubernatorial primary State Representative Nikki Haley came up just short of the 50% needed to avoid a run off election.  With 48.9% of the vote she will go on to face Congressman Gresham  Barrett who she beat by a more than two to one margin last night.  Hopefully that’s a sign of what’s to come in the run off.  On the Democratic side, State Senator Vincent Sheheen won a decisive victory over Jim Rex and State Senator Robert Ford with 59% of the vote.  He will face either Haley or Barrett in November.

In the First Congressional District State Representative Tim Scott prevailed in a nine person primary and will move to a run off election to face Paul Thurmond.  The winner of the run off will challenge Democrat Ben Frasier who defeated Robert Burton in their primary.

In the Third Congressional District, a Republican run off will be decided between Richard Cash and State Representative Jim Duncan.  The winner of that challenge will face Democrat Jane Dyer who won the Democratic primary and ran against Barrett in 2008.

In the Fourth Congressional District, Trey Gowdy defeated Congressman Bob Inglis, however not enough to decisively win the nomination.  They too will head to a run off and face Democrat Paul Corden in the general election.

In the Sixth Congressional District there was surprisingly a three way Republican primary in this heavily gerrymandered Democratic district.  Jim Pratt and Nancy Harrelson will compete in a run off election to determine who will lose to Congressman Jim Clyburn in November.

In other races, Curtis Loftis defeated incumbent State Treasurer Converse Chellis in the Republican primary.  Leighton Lord and Alan Wilson, son of Congressman Joe Wilson, will move to a run off to determine who the next Attorney General will be.  Neither the AG race nor the Treasurer race was contested by the Democrats.  Ken Ard and Bill Connor will battle it out in the run off to see who the Republicans’ Lt Governor candidate will be.  Mick Zais and Elizabeth Moffly will compete in a run off for the Republican State Superintendent nomination.  The winner will run against Democrat Frank Holleman.

There was a big upset in the State House last night as House Speaker Pro Tem Harry Cato of the 17th House District had the smackdown laid on him by challenger Tom Corbin.  Corbin received 59% of the vote so Cato is outta there!  Two other Republicans in the State House also lost in their primaries.  State Representatives Keith Kelly of the 35th District and Jim Stewart of the 86th were defeated by their challengers.  Additionally, several other State House incumbents were forced into a run off election:  Joey Millwood of the 38th District, Marion Frye of the 39th, Boyd Brown of the 41st, and Richard Chalk of the 123rd.

Finally, probably the sweetest moment of the evening was seeing York County Councilman and scoundrel extraordinaire Paul Lindemann sink faster than the Titanic.  In a four way primary he managed to get less than 12% of the vote.  Republicans David Bowman and Kyle Boyd will move to the run off and the winner will become the next County Councilman for the 1st District as no Democrat filed for the race.

10:23pm – In York County, Paul Lindemann got destroyed.  With 21 of 22 precincts in he has less than 11% of the vote.  David Bowman finished first with 39% and it looks like Kyle Boyd will be his run off opponent with 25.5%, though Tom Audette is pretty close to him and there is still one precinct left to report.  With 98% in, it looks like Paul Thurmond will be Tim Scott’s run off opponent in SC-01.

10:20pm – Richard Cash and Jeff Duncan will head to a run off for U.S. House District 3.

9:56pm – Nikki Haley and Gresham Barrett will be heading to a run off election for the gubernatorial race.  For U.S. House District 1, Tim Scott has qualified for the run off, but his opponent is yet to be determined.

9:53pm – Ben Frasier has won the Democratic primary for U.S. House District 1.  In District 4, Trey Gowdy and Bob Inglis will be heading to a run off election.

9:53pm -

Gubernatorial Primary 89% Reporting

• Haley49%
• Barrett 22%

U.S. House District 1 Primary 90% Reporting

• Scott 31%
• Thurmond 16%
  

• Frasier 55%
• Burton 45%

U.S. House District 3 Primary 82% Reporting

• Cash 25%
• Duncan 24%

U.S. House District 4 Primary 88% Reporting

• Gowdy 43%
• Inglis 26%

Superintendent Primary

• Zais 26%
• Moffly 21%

York County Council District 1

• Bowman 40%
• Boyd 25%
  

9:38pm -

Gubernatorial Primary 78% Reporting

• Haley48%
• Barrett 22%

U.S. House District 1 Primary 65% Reporting

• Scott 32%
• Thurmond 16%
  

• Frasier 56%
• Burton 44%

U.S. House District 3 Primary 69% Reporting

• Duncan 26%
• Cash 22%

U.S. House District 4 Primary 78% Reporting

• Gowdy 42%
• Inglis 27%

Superintendent Primary

• Zais 27%
• Moffly 22%

York County Council District 1

• Bowman 40%
• Boyd 25%
  

9:33pm – Alvin Greene has won the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate.

9:21pm – Jane Dyer has won the Democratic primary for U.S. House District 3.

9:20pm -

Gubernatorial Primary 62% Reporting

• Haley48%
• Barrett 22%

U.S. House District 1 Primary 54% Reporting

• Scott 30%
• Thurmond 17%
  

• Frasier 56%
• Burton 44%

U.S. House District 3 Primary 64% Reporting

• Duncan 26%
• Cash 23%

• Dyer 67%
• Doyle 33%

U.S. House District 4 Primary 59% Reporting

• Gowdy 50%
• Inglis 24%

Superintendent Primary

• Zais 29%
• Moffly 19%

York County Council District 1

• Bowman 40%
• Boyd 25%
  

9:10pm – It looks likely that Nikki Haley and Gresham Barrett will head to a run off.  In U.S. House District 4, Trey Gowdy is at 49.6%.  He may end up defeating Inglis tonight and avoid a run off.  In U.S. House District 1, Tim Scott is going to head to a run off.  He’ll be facing either Carroll Campbell or Paul Thurmond who keep trading second place.  District 3 looks like it will be a run off between Jeff Duncan and Richard Cash.  In York County, Paul Lindemann is getting his butt kicked, in last place of the four candidates.

9:02pm – Vincent Sheheen has decisively won the Democratic primary for governor.  He is well over the 50% mark to avoid a run off.

9:00pm -

Gubernatorial Primary 44% Reporting

• Haley47%
• Barrett 25%

• Sheheen 58%
• Rex 24%

U.S. House District 1 Primary 25% Reporting

• Scott 31%
• Campbell 18%
  

• Frasier 55%
• Burton 45%

U.S. House District 3 Primary 57% Reporting

• Duncan 26%
• Cash 22%

• Dyer 67%
• Doyle 33%

U.S. House District 4 Primary 49% Reporting

• Gowdy 50%
• Inglis 24%

Superintendent Primary

• Zais 29%
• Moffly 19%

York County Council District 1

• Bowman 31%
• Boyd 30%
  

8:45pm -

Gubernatorial Primary 30% Reporting

• Haley48%
• Barrett 23%

• Sheheen 59%
• Rex 23%

U.S. House District 1 Primary 21% Reporting

• Scott 33%
• Thurmond 18%
  

• Frasier 55%
• Burton 45%

U.S. House District 3 Primary 42% Reporting

• Duncan 28%
• Grimaud 20%

• Dyer 65%
• Doyle 35%

U.S. House District 4 Primary 31% Reporting

• Gowdy 44%
• Inglis 26%

Superintendent Primary

• Zais 27%
• Burgess 20%
  

8:25pm -

Gubernatorial Primary 16% Reporting

• Haley42%
• Barrett 25%

• Sheheen 58%
• Rex 23%

U.S. House District 1 Primary

• Scott 39%
• Kobrovsky 15%

• Burton 62%
• Frasier 38%

U.S. House District 3 Primary 27% Reporting

• Duncan 27%
• Cash 22%

• Dyer 69%
• Doyle 31%

U.S. House District 4 Primary 6% Reporting

• Gowdy 64%
• Inglis 19%

Superintendent Primary

• Zais 36%
• Payne 17%
  

8:10pm -

Gubernatorial Primary 8% Reporting

• Haley40%
• Barrett 28%

• Sheheen 54%
• Rex 27%

U.S. House District 1 Primary

• Scott 39%
• Kobrovsky 15%

• Burton 62%
• Frasier 38%

U.S. House District 3 Primary 7% Reporting

• Duncan 41%
• Grimaud 17%

• Dyer 65%
• Doyle 35%

U.S. House District 4 Primary

• Gowdy 66%
• Inglis 17%

7:50pm – There isn’t much reporting yet, but right now in the gubernatorial primaries Nikki Haley is leading the Republicans with 42%.  Sheheen is leading the Democrats with 52%.

The polls are closed.  I’ll be updating as I get information.

If PPP’s poll is accurate, then Haley is looking very good heading into tomorrow’s primary election.

We have a primary election here in South Carolina on Tuesday with some important choices to make.  We’ll be choosing party nominees for the next gubernatorial race and we’ll be getting at least two new Congressmen this year since Henry Brown (R-SC01) is retiring and Gresham Barrett (R-SC03) is making a failed run for governor.  We may be seeing a bigger turnover than that however.  Bob Inglis (R-SC04) isn’t exactly in the greatest reelection shape and some speculate that he could be forced into a run off by one of his primary challengers.  Add that to a strong challenge by State Senator Mick Mulvaney (R-Indian Land) to Congressman John Spratt (D-SC05) in November and we could potentially be replacing over half of our state’s Congressional delegation come January.

Now I obviously can’t vote in all of these races, but I’m happy to offer my thoughts on many of them and point out who I would vote for if I could.  I make these decisions based on who I think is the best candidate to protect our liberties and freedoms from the tyranny of the powers that be.  And so here we go.

York County Council District 1

I don’t typically weigh in on local races because I don’t have the time to analyze the hundreds of races going on in every county and municipality in the Carolinas, but I am going to weigh in one and that is because it is pretty close to my backyard.  If you live in York County, or more specifically Fort Mill or Tega Cay, then right now you are being represented on the York County Council by one corrupt SOB.  His name is Paul Lindemann.  That shouldn’t be a new name for you.  We talk about him all the time.  Despite the publicity of his malfeasance, he is running for reelection.  If you vote for Paul Lindemann you deserve to be flogged, tasered in your groin, and then buried in the sand up to your neck right near a mound of fire ants with honey drizzled over your head.  Is that descriptive enough?  This man is the living characiture of the stereotypical corrupt politician.  Now you may think that Paul is crazy for running again.  How could he possibly get reelected?  Well he’s got three challengers so his ability to survive in a four way race should not be underestimated.  There are plenty of lambs out there who will go to their slaughter on Tuesday to try and install this man for another two years.  Don’t let that happen.  Give your vote to someone with integrity, honesty, and decency.  That someone is Mr. Kyle Boyd.

I have met Kyle Boyd.  He is the headmaster at Walnut Grove Christian School and the father of three children.  He identifies himself as a fiscal conservative and pledges to be a leader on tax reform and government transparency.  We will not be reading stories in The Herald of Kyle Boyd getting DUIs or being a party to a domestic violence dispute, or bouncing $10,000 checks to Winthrop University, or not paying contractors for the work they do on his house.  We will not be reading those stories about Kyle Boyd the way we have read them about Paul Lindemann.  This is an opportunity to put an overall good guy into our county government so please don’t screw it up this time.  Vote for Kyle on Tuesday.  It’s really that easy.

South Carolina Congressional District 1

This is the seat currently held by Republican Congressman Henry Brown.  Thankfully, he is retiring this year so we will no longer have to worry about him stealing our tax dollars and redistributing it to his district.  This has become a huge contest.  There are nine Republicans, two Democrats, and four third party candidates running for this seat.  On the Republican side there are many good candidates to pick from and if I lived in that district I would have a difficult time making a decision.  However, kind of like Highlander, in the end there can be only one.  So that being the case, I would again, like in 2008, go with Katherine Jenerette.  She is an accomplished woman and mother.  She has bravely served this country in our armed forces and I think she has the right ideas to take us forward.  Her agenda on lower taxation, lower government spending, and controlled immigration is a positive plan for the nation.  I think she would be a responsible representative for the people of the Grand Strand.

On the Democratic ballot I like Col. Robert Burton.  He recently retired from military service after spending 32 years in the United States Air Force.  Burton has a strong focus on lowering South Carolina’s unemployment rate, one of the highest in the nation, by championing a lower Federal tax rate on small businesses and actively seeking opportunities to bring technology and energy jobs to the state.  He also realizes the need to stick it out in Afghanistan.  It’s been a long and tiring war on our soldiers and there was plenty of mismanagement of the war by our previous administration, but Burton is correct.  We just can’t cut our losses and leave like some in our Congress would like to see.  Burton is a common sense man with common sense ideas.

South Carolina Congressional District 3

This is the far western district of the state bordering Georgia and currently held by Republican Congressman Gresham Barrett.  As I stated before, he is not seeking reelection and instead decided to lose in the gubernatorial race this year.  He voted for the bank bailout, so I’m not too upset about his current political misfortune.  There are six Republicans running to succeed him and the one I like is State Representative Jeff Duncan.  Duncan has a proven record of fiscal responsibility in our state government.  In fact, he is one of the few that can actually make  that claim.  He has received an “A” rating from the South Carolina Club for Growth whose opinions I take very seriously because they don’t just hand out good grades to anyone.  Duncan’s views on reigning in government spending and excessive taxation is precisely the shot in the arm our nation needs.  He is the guy we need to send to D.C.   We do not want to send State Representative Rex Rice.  He not only supported raising the cigarette tax to expand the nanny welfare state in South Carolina, he was a co-sponsor.  Duncan good.  Rice bad.

South Carolina Congressional District 4

I think this goes without saying.  Bob Inglis is in some pretty deep shit and may very well be the next incumbent to get booted in his party primary.  Inglis is facing the hostility of a very conservative electorate in his district who are not all that pleased with the direction the Republican Party has been going in.  He has also taken some heat for voting to reprimand Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC02) for his infamous “You lie!” outburst to President Obama during this year’s State of the Union address as well as voting against “the Surge” in Iraq in 2007.  Furthermore, the man has hit my boiling point over his insistence on us needing to implement a carbon tax over the fraudulent man made global warming scam.  In my opinion, there is no need to stop the national political bloodletting here in South Carolina.  Give Inglis the boot.

My recommendation is Spartanburg attorney Trey Gowdy.  Gowdy is strong advocate of job creation by lessening Federal restrictions on businesses that make it difficult for them to thrive.  Of course, he is mortified by the irresponsible spending going on in D.C. otherwise I wouldn’t recommend him.  He is also a staunch supporter of the Ninth and Tenth Amendments of the Constitution meaning he is very much opposed to the recent Federal grab of our health care system and their unconstitutional insurance mandate.

South Carolina State Superintendent

This is a race that doesn’t get talked about much but really should.  Public education in this state has a poor reputation and we haven’t seen much improvement.  We just keep getting more of the same and Jim Rex has been no different.  I like Gary Burgess for this seat.  He’s big on school choice and eliminating programs that have not shown any merit.  The main reason we spend so much money on education in this country but do not get the bang for our buck is because the vast majority of the money goes to bureaucracy.  Burgess wants school spending accounted for.  But the real idea that sold me on Burgess is his philosophy on school choice, that the tax dollars should follow the student.  My God, how many times have I written about that very same idea on this Web site?  Make the school districts compete for the students.  With the students comes the money.  It is a winning formula and mark my word if Gary Burgess could accomplish that he would be the most successful state superintendent in this country.

South Carolina Governor

And finally we get down to the big one.  I have a candidate for both the Republican and Democrat parties.  On the Republican side I have been an ardent supporter of State Representative Nikki Haley and despite the calamity that has surrounded her over the past two weeks, I am sticking with Nikki Haley.  Accusations are not proof of guilt.  It was different with Mark Sanford because there was proof of his indiscretions and he came right out and admitted it.  Maybe Nikki Haley has been unfaithful.  I don’t know, but what I do know is that there isn’t a single shred of proof out there to support these accusations.  If there was we’d have seen it by now.  We are innocent until proven guilty in this country.  I believe that of all four Republican candidates Nikki Haley has the best ideas to take our state forward.  She has a record of fighting for transparency in government and against wasteful spending.  Prior to the recession our state budget increased an average of 11% per year for four years and that was with Republicans in control.  You know, the party that claims to be for small government?  Haley has fought against that kind of government growth and I think she can be a real powerhouse in the governor’s mansion.  She has my vote.

On the Democratic ticket I think State Senator Robert Ford is an outstanding choice.  Senator Ford took a brave stand last year going public with his support for school choice so that the parents of the poorer children in this state can get those kids out of these failing schools and get them a better education.  Ford took a lot of flack from his party and fellow legislators over that stance because his party has been in bed with the teachers union for decades and have been preserving the failing status quo in public education in order to keep the donations coming in.  Ford recognized the problem in education and chose to speak out.  I also support Ford because of his push to bring back video poker to South Carolina.  According to Ford’s estimate it could bring in a billion dollars in revenue for the state and create several thousand jobs, but it’s not just that.  I am a grown man and if I want to go to a bar and gamble some of my money on a video poker machine, who in the hell is the State of South Carolina to tell me that I am not allowed to do that?  This is an issue of liberty and I said at the beginning of this post that was the primary goal I was looking for in these candidates.  Robert Ford fits the bill.

So that’s what I’ve got for Tuesday.  Man am I tired after all of that.  Vote wisely and good luck to all of the candidates.

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Former Vice President Dick Cheney endorsed Gresham Barrett in the South Carolina governor’s race Wednesday, potentially giving his campaign a needed boost less than two weeks before the GOP primary.

Politico

A new poll out from Public Policy Polling now shows Nikki Haley holding a 21 point lead over Henry McMaster in the Republican gubernatorial primary.  Haley holds 39% of the vote, just one point away from the magic number of 40 which she would need to secure the nomination and avoid a run off.  PPP says even with allegations surfacing from Will Folks about allegedly having an affair with Haley a few years back, she has enough support to almost certainly make it to a run off election.  McMaster trails Haley with 18%, followed by Gresham Barrett at 16% and Andre Bauer at 13%.

On the Democrat side, State Senator Vincent Sheheen is the current front runner.  Sheheen leads Jim Rex 36% to 30%, with 11% going to State Senator Robert Ford and 23% undecided.

A Rasmussen poll shows spectacular results for the Haley campaign.  In a survey conducted May 17th of 931 likely Republican primary voters, Nikki Haley has shot from fourth place in past polls to a sizable first place lead!

An internal poll conducted by the South Carolina GOP of the gubernatorial primary shows Henry McMaster with a decisive lead, but with many still undecided and not nearly enough of a lead to avoid a run off. The poll shows the following:

McMaster – 29 percent
Bauer – 19 percent
Barrett – 18 percent
Haley – 15 percent
Undecided/ Refused -19 percent

Source: FITSNews

The four Republican candidates running for Governor of South Carolina will be debating tomorrow night in Rock Hill in the Magnolia Room at Laurel Creek.  There will be a reception at 6:00 with a 90 minute town hall style debate beginning at 7:00.  The candidates in attendance will be Nikki Haley, Gresham Barrett, Henry McMaster, and Andre Bauer.

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.

1* 2010 South Carolina GOP Primary for Governor

There are a slew of candidates running to replace Congressman Gresham Barrett (R) in South Carolina’s Third Congressional District.  As you probably know, Banker Bailout Barrett is trying to become our next governor (fat chance of that) and his R+17 district virtually guarantees that a Republican will succeed him next year.  Of the six candidates running I had the pleasure of interviewing State Representative Jeff Duncan of State House District 15.

Duncan is the father of three boys and has been married to his wife, whom he met in high school, for 21 years.  He got elected to the State House in 2002, but don’t blame him for the 40% increase in state spending and all the pork and waste racked up by our legislative assembly during that time.  Duncan was one of the good guys, consistently opposing the largesse of our trough feeding state legislative leadership.  Yes, Bobby Harrell and Glenn McConnell, I am talking about you, amongst others.  Duncan has received multiple high marks from the South Carolina Club for Growth, a taxpayer hero award from Governor Mark Sanford, and commendations from the South Carolina Policy Council.  In fact, it is this invariable commitment to small government policies that Duncan feels is what makes him the best candidate to receive his party’s nomination and go on to be an effective representative in Washington D.C.

South Carolina has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country.  I asked Duncan specifically about what could be done in Congress to improve our state’s economy.  He supports overhauling the tax code and regulatory environment.  Banking regulations, he says, have frozen access to capital for many businesses preventing expansion and an increase in jobs.  He also advocates slashing the Corporate Income Tax, which is the second highest in the world, and getting back into the business of nuclear power.

I also asked him about health care costs because that’s been a huge issue lately across the country.  One criticism I’ve heard from some of my more conservative friends is that they hold some blame on the Republicans for this health care disaster we’ve been seeing in Washington.  They say the rising cost of health care and insurance has been a complaint from many Americans for years and during all that time the GOP held the majority in Congress they could have addressed that issue, but they didn’t.  Now we have the Democrats on the verge of destroying the entire system.

Duncan says that Congress could take advantage of the interstate commerce clause in the Constitution and use it to bring down state boundaries in health insurance to allow companies to sell across state lines.  Competition will drive down the price.  He is also a supporter of some type of tort reform.  Furthermore, Duncan says that individuals who purchase health insurance outside their company should be allowed a dollar for dollar Federal tax deduction to help pay for it.  Additionally, associations in an industry should be able to pool together to purchase insurance at a lower cost.  He cited the National Association of Realtors, for example.

I also hit Duncan up about the Boeing deal that just happened a few months ago.  Boeing ultimately decided on South Carolina over Washington State to locate their plant that will assemble their new 787 jetliner.  This decision was based on the state’s cheaper labor costs and also targeted tax breaks for the company.  There has been criticism by some groups over these tax breaks, referring to them as corporate welfare.  Duncan, who voted in favor of the deal, said that while it probably isn’t good policy, to not go along with it would put the state in a non-competitive spot due to other states engaging in the practice.

Some additional information.  Jeff Duncan would support a Constitutional amendment imposing term limits on all Federal elected officials and he also is of the opinion that we do not have enough small business owners in D.C. who understand economics and what it takes to run a business in America.  Small businesses make up 75% of all American industry.

The primary is June 8th of this year.  Aside from Duncan, State Representative Rex Rice, State Senator Shane Massey, businessman Richard Cash of Anderson, Easley attorney Neil Collins, and Dr. Mike Vasovski of Aiken are also vying for the nomination to run in the November general election.