South Carolina state Rep. Nikki Haley rebuffed multiple charges of infidelity to maintain her lead through the final rocky weeks of the gubernatorial primary to emerge the with the most votes tonight, according to the AP. She came in just shy of the 50% required to avoid a runoff however, meaning she’ll face second place finisher Rep. Gresham Barrett again on June 22.
With 88% of precincts reporting, Haley has 49% of the vote. Barrett drew 17%. Despite the huge disparity, South Carolina law means the two will meet again in two weeks.
That Haley came out on top is no surprise. Polls ahead of the election showed her with significant leads over her Republican rivals. Haley was endorsed my many big names in the conservative establishment, including Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin and the Club for Growth. All remained by her side as first and one man and otherand then another claimed to have had affairs with her.
The big question now is, are the accusations of infidelity gone for good? Or will Barrett force her to fight them again in the runoff race? The results of today’s primary suggests that if the attacks — and Haley’s response to them — continue as they have, Haley could do worse than to face those allegations again.
Haley has done all she can to fight the rumor mill, even promising to resign if she becomes governor and the rumors of infidelity are proven to be true. It helps that she has by her side Jenny Sanford, estranged wife of the current South Carolina governor who refused to resign after his infidelity was revealed.
On the Democratic side, state Sen. Vincent Sheheen swept a crowded primary to win his party’s nomination outright, according to AP projections. Sheheen has campaigned on reducing the size of government and his strong support for raising South Carolina’s cigarette tax to pay for health care coverage for the poor, which the state legislature did over Gov. Mark Sanford’s (R) veto in May.
By clearing the field, Sheheen has a couple weeks to raise money and campaign on his won while the Republicans duke it out. But at this point it’s unlikely Democrats will take Sanford’s old job come November — prognosticators rank the South Carolina gubernatorial contest as leaning heavily toward the GOP.
