2010 Elections

Gov. Sanford Sides Against Own Ex-Staffer On Haley Affair Claim

Justin Elliott | June 1, 2010, 4:08PM

South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford (R-SC)

Mark Sanford, who has survived a historically brazen sex scandal to remain in office as governor of South Carolina, today came out in defense of gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley -- a longtime political ally -- over the claim of an inappropriate physical relationship made by blogger and former Sanford spokesman Will Folks.

"I think that people see that stuff for what it is, which is politics as usual and in this case a particularly evil brand of politics as usual," Sanford said at a public event today, the AP reports.

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Nikki Haley

Folks Consulting Lawyer To 'Protect My Website And My Reputation'

Justin Elliott | May 25, 2010, 2:02PM

Will Folks

South Carolina blogger and political consultant Will Folks is feeling embattled one day after going public with the claim of an "inappropriate physical relationship" with gubernatorial hopeful Nikki Haley -- to the point where he is now consulting a lawyer for advice on how to "take some steps to protect the credibility of my website and my reputation," he told TPMmuckraker in a phone interview.

"I anticipated a denial from her, but I never anticipated a full fledged character assassination," said Folks.

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Nikki Haley

Haley: My Enemies Are Behind Blogger's Claim Of Affair With Me

Justin Elliott | May 25, 2010, 11:21AM

South Carolina gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley (R)

In a radio interview Monday, South Carolina gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley accused her GOP primary opponents of being responsible for blogger and political consultant Will Folks' claim that he had an "inappropriate physical relationship" with the married Haley a few years ago.

Throughout the interview with WORD radio host Bob McLain, Haley paints Folks' claim as the work of enemies (she frequently refers to "they") including her opponents and entrenched state interests, rather than simply coming from Folks himself. She again denies any affair.

McLain asked Haley if she felt "as if a competitive campaign, somebody in an opposition camp, is behind this release on this website today?"

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Nikki Haley

Report: Blogger Claiming Affair Has Years Of Text Messages With SC Gov Candidate

Justin Elliott | May 25, 2010, 9:36AM

South Carolina gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley and Will Folks

The website of the prominent South Carolina blogger who claims he had an "inappropriate physical relationship" with gubernatorial front-runner Nikki Haley is claiming in a new post that there are five years worth of emails, voicemails, and text messages between the two -- though the site, FITSNews, isn't saying much about what the correspondence reveals.

The blogger, Will Folks, claimed Monday he had the relationship with Haley several years ago, while she was married. Haley, a Republican state representative who has garnered national support for her campaign, promptly and "categorically" denied Folks' claim.

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