SOUTH CAROLINA
      Nov. 2, 2010 Governor                                      

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+Nikki Haley (R)
690,425
 		51.37%
Vincent Sheheen (D)
 		630,534
 		46.91%
Morgan Bruce Reeves (G/UNC)
 		20,114
 		1.50%
write-ins 3,025
 		0.23%

1,344,198
Registration:  2,631,459.  Ballots Cast:  1,365,480.
Plurality:  59,891 votes (4.46 percentage points).
 SC Election Commission


Notes:  Gov. Mark Sanford (R) was term-limited and finishing his tenure in disgrace after revelations of an affair.  State Rep. Nikki Haley (R) survived a raft of potential damaging stories and defeated state Sen. Vincent Sheheen (D) to become South Carolina's first woman governor.

Four candidates vied for the Republican nomination (>).  Haley, then little known, announced her candidacy on May 14, 2009.  The daughter of Indian immigrants, she was elected to the State House in 2004 and re-elected in 2008.  Haley was an ally of Gov. Sanford.  His endorsement would have been worthless, perhaps harmful, but First Lady Jenny Sanford endorsed Haley on Nov. 11.  By May Haley was still trailing in polls, but there were several significant developments.  On May 13 she received the endorsement of former Gov. Sarah Palin; the two rallied in Columbia on May 14.  In the closing weeks of May, reports of an affair with consultant/FITS News blogger Will Folks gained traction.  Haley denied the allegation, and some analysts suggested the story may have helped, not hurt, her candidacy.
 
In the June 8 primary, Haley finished first with 206,326 votes (48.86%) followed by U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett at 91,824 (21.75%), Attorney General Henry McMaster at 71,494 (16.93%) and Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer at 52,607 (12.46%) of 422,251 votes tallied.  Haley and Barrett proceeded to the June 22 runoff (>), where Haley won by 233,733 votes (65.05%) to 125,601 (34.95%) of 359,334 votes tallied.

Sheheen was elected to the State House in 2000, and ascended to the Senate in 2004.  In the Democratic primary, Sheheen garnered 111,637 votes (58.96%), defeating State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex at 43,590 votes (23.02%) and state Sen. Robert Ford at 34,121 votes (18.02%) of 189,348 votes tallied.

Also on the November ballot was pastor and former football player Morgan Bruce Reeves, endorsed by the Green Party and the United Citizens Party.

Haley and Sheheen  engaged in three debates:

Oct. 19 - at The Chapman Cultural Center in Spartanburg;

Oct. 25 - South Carolina Educational Television in Columbia;

Oct. 26 - at Francis Marion University in Florence (>).


Campaign Managers:
Nikki Haley:  Tim Pearson
(started on the campaign in May 2009)  Senior communications advisor to Gov. Mark Sanford for 3 1/2 months to May 2009.  Worked for Freedom's Watch.  Director of rapid response on Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign.  Speechwriter in DC and earlier staff assistant in Allentown to Sen. Rick Santorum.  Studied political science at Lehigh University.

Vincent Sheheen: Trav Robertson
South Carolina state director on Obama for America general election campaign, Aug.-Nov. 2008.  Iowa regional field director and South Carolina field coordinator on Gov. Bill Richardson’s presidential campaign.  Ran State Treasurer Grady Patterson's 2006 re-election campaign (narrowly won by Thomas Ravenel (R)), and previously served as a spokesman for Treasurer Patterson, and directed Patterson's successful 2002 and 1998 re-election campaigns.  Managed Brent Weaver's congressional campaign in the Dec. 2001 special election in the 2nd CD.  Managed U.S. Rep. John Spratt's victory in 2000.   A former chairman of the Anderson County Democratic Party   B.A. in philosophy from the University of South Carolina.  Anderson native.


See also:
Noah Rothman.  "Tim Pearson Finds a Political Home in South Carolina."  Campaigns & Elections, Mar. 1, 2011.

Robbie Brown.  "Nikki Haley No Longer a Sure Winner in S. Carolina."  The New York Times, Oct. 29, 2010.

Chris Haire.  "The Case Against Nikki Haley."  Charleston City Paper, Oct. 20, 2010.

Staff.  "South Carolina Governor's Race Tightens in Final Stretch."  ABC News, Oct. 11, 2010.

Robert Behre.  "S.C. Governor candidate Sheheen has deep roots in Camden."  The Post and Courier, July 24, 2010.

Kasie Hunt.  "Nikki Haley makes history."  Politico, June 22, 2010.

Don Gonyea.  "Nikki Haley Poised To Be GOP Pick For S.C. Governor."  NPR, June 22, 2010.

Iowa State University Archives of Women's Political Communication - Nikki Haley.





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