South Carolina primary

Texan GOPer Tells House Not To Freak Out Over Newt Nomination

Sahil Kapur | January 21, 2012, 10:37PM

Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX)

Soon after Newt Gingrich's victory in the South Carolina primary, Rep. Michael Burgess, a senior House Republican from Texas, told TPM that it's "nonsense" to suggest that the former speaker's potential nomination would damage the GOP's odds in the presidential or congressional races come November.

"I actually think that's nonsense," Burgess told TPM by phone Saturday night. "I think that if we have a good strong national leader as our nominee I think that will reflect well on the races across the country. The people who are concerned about that really ought to do the right thing in their races, and their races will take care of themselves."

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Mitt Romney

Romney Accuses 'Labor Stooges' At NLRB Of Political Payback

Susan Crabtree | September 12, 2011, 3:42PM

GOP Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney joined the GOP's latest anti-union salvo -- reining in the National Labor Relations Board -- at an event in South Carolina Monday.

Romney, and his latest high-profile supporter Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, toured Boeing's new manufacturing plant in North Charleston. The NLRB is suing Boeing for moving an operation to South Carolina, a right-to-work state, from Washington state after unions protested there.

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2012 Presidential Primaries

Santorum: The Gay Community Is On A 'Jihad' Against Me

Eric Kleefeld | August 29, 2011, 11:43AM

Rick Santorum at the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition's Spring Kickoff Event

Rick Santorum really does not like the political activism that gay people have launched against him, ever since his 2003 remarks comparing the legalization of gay sex and gay marriage to pedophilia, bestiality and incest.

"So the gay community said, 'He's comparing gay sex to incest and polygamy, how dare he do this,' and they have gone out on a, I would argue, jihad against Rick Santorum since then," Santorum said at a campaign event in Spartanburg, S.C., on Friday, The Hill reports.

There is a certain irony here, in that radical Islamists -- like Santorum himself -- would want to see homosexuality outlawed. And it is Santorum's prior remarks on that subject that have led to the situation that he is complaining about.

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Polls

Perrymentum: Poll Shows Texas Gov. Leading In South Carolina

Kyle Leighton | August 26, 2011, 3:55PM

Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)

To complete a week of good news for Tex. Gov. Rick Perry, in which polls found him leading nationally and in Iowa for the GOP presidential nod little over a week after he began campaigning, a new poll released on Friday now shows him ahead of the pack in South Carolina, with another lead outside the margin of error.

Perry captures 31 percent of the GOP primary voters surveyed, with former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney in second with 20 percent, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) at 14, businessman Herman Cain at 9, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich at 5, Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) at 4, with former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum and former Gov. Jon Huntsman both at 2.

The Texas governor is the most favorably viewed candidate in the race, with 61 percent viewing him that way against 17. Some of the candidates actually have underwater favorability ratings within the GOP electorate, including Gingrich, Paul, Santorum, and especially Jon Huntsman, who registers only a 9 percent favorability rating against a whopping 44 percent with an unfavorable view.

Gallup also revealed new information on Friday that showed Perry is really catching on with Tea Party supporters nationally, data which is reflected in the new South Carolina poll. Perry gets 37 percent of Tea Party supporters, double the next closest candidate, Bachmann.

The poll was conducted and sponsored by Magellan Strategies, and uses 637 automated interviews with likely South Carolina GOP primary voters. It was conducted from August 22nd -23rd and has a sampling error of 3.88 percent.

South Carolina primary

Romney Turns Down DeMint Labor Day Forum

Eric Kleefeld | August 24, 2011, 12:02PM

GOP Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney (R-MA)

Mitt Romney will not be attending a Labor Day candidate forum in South Carolina -- hosted by the very conservative Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), who had previously endorsed Romney back in the 2008 cycle.

As CNN reports, Romney spokesman Ryan Williams has cited scheduling conflicts, saying the candidate will be spending the day in New Hampshire.

Five candidates thus far have accepted invitations: Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann, Ron Paul, Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich. Invitations were also extended to Sarah Palin and Rudy Giuliani, though they are not actually in the race. Romney is thus the only active candidate to turn down the event.

Romney has become the target of many conservative attacks, mainly over his Massachusetts health care reform -- which later became the basic blueprint for President Obama's national health care reform. DeMint, of course, has reversed his own position on his past praise for Massachusetts health care reform, back when he endorsed Romney in the 2008 cycle.

Michele Bachmann

Don't Be Cruel: Bachmann Wishes 'Happy Birthday' To Elvis -- On Anniversary Of His Death

Eric Kleefeld | August 16, 2011, 2:19PM

Michele Bachmann is continuing her campaign theme of celebrating Americana -- even if the details are a bit more macabre than she intended.

"Before we get started, let's all say 'Happy Birthday' to Elvis Presley today," Bachmann said, kicking off a rally in Spartanburg, South Carolina, CNN reports.

"We played you a little bit of 'Promised Land' when we pulled up. You can't do better than Elvis Presley, and we thought we would celebrate his birthday as we get started celebrating taking our country back to work."

In fact, Elvis Presley was born on January 8, 1935. Today's date, August 16, is the anniversary of his death in 1977 at age 42, likely caused by heart disease that was seriously exacerbated from prescription drug abuse.

The video is below the jump, courtesy of Politico:

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2012 elections

Bachmann: I Became 'Committed To Life' After Miscarriage

Eric Kleefeld | June 30, 2011, 9:55AM

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN)

During a campaign stop in South Carolina, Michele Bachmann said that her dedication to the pro-life cause, as well as her experience of serving as a foster parent for a total of 23 children, were rooted in a miscarriage she had years ago.

"After our second was born, we became pregnant with a third baby," Bachmann told an audience of 400, CNN reports. "It was an unexpected baby, but of course we were delighted to have this child. The child was coming along and we ended up losing our child. And it was devastating to both of us, as you can imagine if any of you have lost a child."

"At that moment, we didn't think of ourselves as overly career-minded or overly materialistic but when we lost that child, it changed us, and it changed us forever," she further added. "We made a commitment that no matter how many children were brought into our life, we would receive them because we are committed to life."

2012 elections

Bachmann: Obama Should Go Back To...Hawaii!

Eric Kleefeld | June 29, 2011, 10:17AM

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN)

Michele Bachmann's multi-state campaign announcement tour took her to South Carolina on Tuesday, home of some of the most right-wing Tea Partiers around. And interestingly, while she was there she made a comment that distanced herself sharply from the fringe "Birther" movement in a subtle way.

As CNN reports, Bachmann promised to run a fully national campaign. "We want to win Hawaii," she said. "And we think that there is a certain Hawaiian president who should go back to Hawaii!"

Of course, President Obama was born in Hawaii, though he made his adult life and his political career in Chicago, Illinois. Moreover, Hawaii is a heavily Democratic state, and has only voted Republican for president in the landslide re-elections of Richard Nixon in 1972 and Ronald Reagan in 1984. Obama won his birthplace state by a whopping 72%-26% margin in 2008 -- up from John Kerry's much narrower 54%-45% in 2004 -- aided by the prospect of electing the first Hawaiian president.

On the other hand, this hasn't stopped conspiracy theorists from spinning rumors that Obama was really born in Kenya, and isn't legally qualified to be president, and that the multiple Hawaiian documents attesting to his birth there are forgeries.

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2012 elections

Bachmann To Embark On Announcement Tour Next Week In Key States

Eric Kleefeld | June 22, 2011, 4:41PM

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN)

Michele Bachmann's campaign has now announced the dates for their formal kickoff tour next week -- with her making stops in three of the big early primary and caucus states.

Bachmann made the interesting move of announcing her much-expected candidacy during last week's debate -- though of course, her very participation in the debate was itself an act of running for president. However, that act did seem to be a departure from her previous statements that she would announce her decision in Waterloo, Iowa, the town where she was born.

Now, her campaign announced via press release, she will be making it up with a formal kickoff event on Monday at 10 a.m. CT, in Waterloo -- an event that the campaign press couldn't escape if they wanted to.

Then on Tuesday, she will hold a 9 a.m. ET backyard event at a private residence in Raymond, New Hampshire, and then visit Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with an event at 5:30 p.m. ET. She will then make a full-day swing through South Carolina on Wednesday, with stops in Charleston, Lexington, Greenville, and Rock Hill.

2012 elections

Poll: Romney Holds Healthy Lead In South Carolina Primary

Eric Kleefeld | June 7, 2011, 11:44AM

Mitt Romney

A new survey of the South Carolina Republican primary from Public Policy Polling (D) shows Mitt Romney with the opening lead in this key Southern primary state.

It's a good sign for Romney, at least at this early juncture in the race, to be leading in a primary that often favors social conservatives. He must sill go through the ringer of the campaign, of course, and the fact that Gov. Nikki Haley has criticized his Massachusetts health care reform law. But that being said, he is starting out on top in a strong position.

The initial numbers: Romney 27%, Palin 18%, Cain 12%, Gingrich 12%, Bachmann 9%, Ron Paul 7%, Pawlenty 4%, and Huntsman 2%.

Without Palin in the race: Romney 30%, Cain 15%, Gingrich 15%, Bachmann 13%, Paul 10%, Pawlenty 5%, and Huntsman 2%.

PPP's Tom Jensen writes: "Romney's formula for success in South Carolina is the same as in Iowa: dominate with the middle, lead with the center right, and avoid getting completely blown out of the water with the far right."

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Pres '12

Bachmann Headed To South Carolina

Eric Kleefeld | February 3, 2011, 9:48AM

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN)

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), the national Tea Party star who has been traveling to Iowa and eyeing a possible run for president, is now making her way to another key early state: South Carolina.

Bachmann will visit the state on February 19, speaking in Columbia at a lunch meeting of the South Carolina Federation of Republican Women, and in Spartanburg at a reception and dinner by the Spartanburg County GOP.

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South Carolina primary

Santorum Headlines Pro-Life Rally In South Carolina

Eric Kleefeld | January 17, 2011, 2:47PM

Fmr. Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA)

Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA), a potential presidential candidate, appeared Sunday for a major pro-life rally at the state capitol in South Carolina, the key first-in-the-South presidential primary state.

The State reports:

This year's rally featured former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania as its keynote speaker.

Santorum, a Republican presidential hopeful, told the crowd that the debate extends not just to abortion, but to euthanasia as well.

"The pro-life battle is being fought at the bedsides of the very young, the very old and the disabled," he said. "This isn't a debate we should even be having. Life should be respected at all levels."

2012 elections

Gingrich: GOP Still Needs To Win 'Really Large Margin' In Congress In 2012

Eric Kleefeld | January 14, 2011, 10:38AM

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA)

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) made a bold pronouncement Thursday during a visit to South Carolina: That Republicans don't just have to win in 2012 -- they have to win huge majorities.

The Myrtle Beach Sun News reports:

The midterm win wasn't enough and Republicans need to aim for winning 40 more House seats and 12 or 13 more Senate seats in the next election, Gingrich said to a crowd at the Marina Inn at Grande Dunes.

"If you're going to govern in 2013, you're going to need a really large margin," he said.

Note that a gain of 13 seats in the Senate would give Republicans 60 Senate seats -- the same number that Democrats needed to enact health care reform and other major bills of the last Congress. Thus, they would be well positioned to repeal all those same laws, and go further with some of their own ambitious ideas.

(Via CNN.)

Newt Gingrich

Gingrich Deciding On Pres. Run 'By The End Of February'

Eric Kleefeld | January 13, 2011, 1:55PM

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA)

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) is laying out a timeline for his decision on whether to run for president -- and he says, the South Carolina primary will be key.

"I'm looking at making a decision by the end of February," Gingrich told McClatchy, as he visits the state. "I'm trying to methodically see if it's possible and if there's enough support to make sense out of it."

Gingrich underscored the importance of South Carolina, which has been the first contest held in the South each cycle. "South Carolina has picked the last five Republican presidential nominees," said Gingrich. "So it's clear that along with Iowa and New Hampshire, it's a key state in the presidential nominating process. There's no question it will retain that importance in 2012."

2012 Presidential Primaries

Potential 2012 GOPers Headed To South Carolina

Eric Kleefeld | January 6, 2011, 5:01PM

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) and former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA)

The 2012 Republican presidential race is just starting to warm up, with a whole bunch of possible candidates now set to drop into the key primary state of South Carolina:

• Mike Pence will visit this weekend, to keynote a black-tie dinner by the conservative group the Awakening Conference.

• Newt Gingrich will visit next Thursday, and address the Grand Strand Business Association in Myrtle Beach.

• Rick Santorum will visit next Saturday, two days after Gingrich, appearing at an anti-abortion rally at the state Capitol.

SC-GOV

Is The GOP's SC-GOV Primary The Sleaziest Race Of The Year?

Eric Kleefeld | June 22, 2010, 8:24AM

South Carolina gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley (R)

The South Carolina Republican gubernatorial primary might just be the sleaziest race of the whole cycle -- with one personal attack after another being flung right at state Rep. Nikki Haley.

Haley is favored to win today's primary runoff against Congressman Gresham Barrett, but it's sure been a rough ride along the way. The first notable wave of attacks came when two separate men accused Haley of having extramarital affairs with them: First it was Republican blogger Will Folks, and then it was lobbyist Larry Marchant. It is interesting to note that Marchant had been a paid consultant for one of Haley's rivals, Lt. Gov. André Bauer, until a day before he publicly spoke about the alleged affair. Haley publicly vowed that if she were elected governor and the affair accusations were proven true, she would resign.

Marchant took a lie detector test on the allegations, which came back "inconclusive." Bauer also took a lie detector test, in order to prove that he was not behind the allegations. Bauer ultimately came in fourth place in the first round of the primary.

Interestingly, Folks has made it clear that he supports Haley, even as he says she's lying when she denies the alleged affair. With supporters like these...

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SC-SEN

South Carolina Dems Call On Greene To Drop Out Of Senate Race

Eric Kleefeld | June 9, 2010, 4:15PM

SC-SEN candidate Alvin Greene (D)

The South Carolina Democratic Party has now called upon its new nominee for Senate, Alvin Greene, to withdraw from the race the day after he won the state primary.

Democrats have quickly become somewhat embarrassed by Greene's upset win in the primary, due to the revelation that he was arrested last November for allegedly showing obscene Web photos to a university student. His mysterious candidacy began when Greene, who is unemployed and lives with his parents, showed up with a personal check for over $10,000 to register as a candidate. (He was then told that a personal check was not a proper method of payment -- and quickly showed up a few hours later with a check from a campaign account.)

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2012 elections

Polls: No GOP Frontrunner In Early Primary States

Eric Kleefeld | May 31, 2010, 11:39AM

Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin

With about a year and a half to go before the first Republican caucuses and primaries in 2012, a new set of numbers from Public Policy Polling (D) shows that none of the big names have yet come to dominate the field, with a different candidate leading in each of three states.

"The story in our 2012 Republican polling continues to be that there is no one approaching front runner status," writes PPP president Dean Debnam.

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