GOP governor's race makes Sanford's legacy seem tame

Charleston, South Carolina (News Today) - It's easy to forget that for a while there, the South Carolina governor's race was a pretty tame affair.

The four-way Republican primary fight was, for the better part of a year, focused on issues like health care, job creation and federal spending. A year after Gov. Mark Sanford committed political seppuku on national television by admitting to an affair with an Argentinian woman, the GOP candidates appeared eager to get beyond salacious headlines.

The three Democrats vying for their party's nomination were getting less attention as usual, but still hoping that Sanford's tarnished reputation would give them an opening in November.

But in the race's final month, Palmetto State Republicans managed to give new definition to that famous remark of James Petigru, a long-deceased state legislator: "South Carolina is too small to be a republic," he said, "and too large to be an insane asylum."

The race was turned upside down on May 14 when Sarah Palin stood on the steps of the State House in Columbia and endorsed state Rep. Nikki Haley, earning Haley boatloads of exposure and helping rocket the long-shot candidate to the front of the race.

As polls began to tilt in Haley's favor and away from her three opponents -- Attorney General Henry McMaster, Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer and Rep. Gresham Barrett -- all hell broke loose.

A recap of the madness: Two weeks ago, a conservative blogger claimed to have had an "inappropriate physical relationship" with Haley in 2007 and boasted that he had the text messages and e-mails to prove it, though he has yet to disclose them to the public. The blogger, Will Folks, is a Haley supporter.

Haley forcefully denied the allegation and accused political rivals of pushing rumors about her to undercut her surging campaign. Then a well-connected lobbyist and former Bauer adviser named Larry Marchant came forward with another claim - that he had a one-night stand with Haley at a conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2008.

"She can deny it. Let the people decide. I know what happened, and my conscience is clear," Marchant said.

He took a lie detector test Monday to prove his story. Bauer, defending himself against Haley's claim that he put Marchant up to the accusation, passed a lie detector test of his own on Sunday, which he said proved he had nothing to do with it.

As the sex rumors swirled, a prominent state senator, Jake Knotts, went on a political talk show and raised questions about Haley's Sikh heritage before calling her -- and President Obama -- a "raghead."

Knotts is a Bauer supporter. Bauer called the comment "deplorable" and Knotts later apologized - sort of.

On top of all that, McMaster -- who made a name for himself earlier this year by leading a group of attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against President Obama's health care bill -- received a death threat that now has him traveling with a state law enforcement agent.

"I have never been in a race this ugly before," Barrett told reporters Monday at his campaign headquarters.

Despite the bedlam surrounding her candidacy, Haley maintained her lead and locked in a first-place finish and a spot in the runoff election, The Associated Press projected.

Haley fell just short of the 50 percent threshold needed to avoid a runoff election, scheduled for June 22. Her opponent in the two-week sprint for the nomination will be Barrett, who finished in a distant second place.

McMaster finished in third place while Bauer finished fourth.

State Sen. Vincent Sheheen captured the Democratic nomination on Tuesday.

Source : CNN

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