TPMDC

Poll: Haley Still Leads In SC-GOV GOP Primary

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R)

A new Insider Advantage/Statehouse Report poll shows that South Carolina Republican gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley still has a big lead in the June 8 primary — even after allegations surfaced of a possible extra-marital affair.

The poll shows Haley leading with 31.3%, followed by Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer with 20.7%, Rep. Graham Barrett with 14.1%, and Attorney General Henry McMaster with 13.8%.

The newest poll was conducted Tuesday night — well after blogger Will Folks went public with his claims of having an affair with Haley. Haley has denied Folks’ allegations.

An earlier PPP poll conducted before allegations of the affair surfaced also showed Haley with a big lead. The TPM Poll Average shows Haley leading in the primary with 28.0%, followed by McMaster at 18.0%, Bauer with 15.7% and Barrett with 15.3%.

While the latest poll was conducted after Folks’ initial allegations, it still predates some subsequent developments — like Folks releasing text messages about the claimed affair, announcing that a “compromising” photo exists of he and Haley, and releasing phone records of calls between he and Haley.

Nikki Haley, SC-GOV, Will Folks

Editor & Publisher

Josh Marshall

Managing Editor

David Kurtz

Senior Associate Editor

Paul Werdel

Associate Editor

Sara Libby

Assistant Editor

Igor Bobic

Reporters

Brian Beutler

Carl Franzen

Sahil Kapur

Eric Kleefeld

Eric Lach

Nick Martin

Evan McMorris-Santoro

Ryan J. Reilly

Benjy Sarlin

Front Page Editor

David Taintor

Poll Editor

Kyle Leighton

News Writer

Pema Levy

Video Editor

Michael Lester

Polling Fellow

Tom Kludt

Video Fellow

Clayton Ashley

Publishing Fellow

Christopher O’Driscoll

Research Interns

Michael Brooks

Publishing Intern

Miles Read

General Manager & General Counsel

Millet Israeli

VP, Ad Sales

Mary Cadwallader

Bob Edmunds

Bruce Ellerstein

Waldo Tibbetts

Manager, Ad Operations and Sales Support

Versha Sharma

Deputy Publisher

Callie Schweitzer

Director of Technology

Eric Buth

Designer/Developer

Ni Mu

Matthew Wozniak

Tech Fellow

Dennis Cahillane