Nikki Haley of South Carolina

If you live in Western North Carolina two of your three major television stations come out of the Upstate of South Carolina. As a result, I haven't been able to turn on the TV for the last few months without seeing a political ad for the South Carolina gubernatorial race. You get the occasional Democrat but most of the ads have been for one of the Republicans - Nikki Haley, Gresham Barrett, Henry McMaster, or Andre Bauer.

Thus, I "know" that Gresham went to the Citadel, that Henry will assert South Carolina's state's rights, that Andre has been endorsed by Mike Huckabee, and that Nikki is against the power of the legislature and has been endorsed by Sarah Palin.

South Carolina Republican politics are also some of the most brutal in the country. Nikki Haley has been accused of having an affair with a blogger and a consultant for Andre Bauer (which she has strenuously denied), Gresham Barrett has been dumped on for voting for TARP, Henry McMaster has been accused of being a professional politician, and Andre Bauer is just a weasel. Oops, that last comment was mine but appears to be true.

However, this is a gun blog so where do they stand on the Second Amendment is important to me. The NRA has not endorsed any of the candidates nor has published their current grades. However, having examined the websites for all four, I'd guess that they would all get an A or A+ from the NRA. Of the four, the one that impresses me the most is Nikki Haley. She not only has a concealed weapons permit (CWP) but thinks that the South Carolina laws are too restrictive on where you can or can't carry.



I find Haley's response to be refreshing.

By the time this is published, voting in the SC Primary will be almost over. Polls have shown that Haley is the clear leader and that the other three are hoping to force her to a runoff. The accusations of infidelity have not hurt Haley but have, in fact, rebounded in the opposite direction. If Haley is forced to a runoff by failing to get 50% (a tough standard - most states now use the 40% rule), I am guessing that it will be either McMaster or Barrett and not Bauer.