South Carolina

GOP Operative Hired By S.C. Democrat: There's No Plot Here!

Christina Bellantoni | June 15, 2010, 10:23AM

Preston Grisham (inset), former aide to Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC)

The Republican consultant at the heart of accusations of mischief in the South Carolina Democratic primary said in an interview he worked for a Democratic candidate because he opposed higher taxes and seemed qualified to serve in Congress.

Preston Grisham, a longtime campaign operative for Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), said his new firm Stonewall Strategies was just getting its first clients together when Gregory Brown gave him a call out of the blue to ask for some help with his primary campaign against House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC). Though the nearly $24,000 in payments (the largest expense for the Brown campaign) are listed as for "marketing," both Grisham and Brown said Stonewall did initial polling and helped Brown set up his Web site. (It was housed here last week but now is a dead link.)

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SC-GOV

Clyburn Says All Three Dem Candidates He Thinks Are 'Plants' Hired GOP Firm (VIDEO)

Christina Bellantoni | June 14, 2010, 5:02PM

Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC)

We've been keeping a close eye on the accusations and rumors coming out of South Carolina in recent days following a very strange Democratic primary. It's far from clear whether any of the mysterious candidates who performed better than expected for being little known were "plants" or part of any larger plot.

Today House Majority Whip James Clyburn accused all three candidates he's already suggested were "plants" of hiring Stonewall Strategies, a firm run by former aide to Rep. Joe Wilson. On MSNBC today charged that Democratic candidates Gregory Brown, Ben Frasier in SC-01 and Alvin Greene in the Senate race had employed Stonewall. Preston Grisham, who runs Stonewall, flatly denied the charge in an interview.

Clyburn (D-SC) has spent the last several days suggesting that something was amiss during Tuesday's primary, during which Frasier and Greene prevailed despite a lack of campaigning and no recognition from the state Democratic party.

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South Carolina

Clyburn's Dem Challenger Denies He's A 'Plant' -- But Hired GOP Rep.'s Aide

Christina Bellantoni and Justin Elliott | June 11, 2010, 12:43PM

Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) and SC congressional candidate Gregory Brown (D)

A Democratic primary challenger in South Carolina who has been accused of being a "plant" hired for his Congressional campaign a GOP consultant who as recently as late last year was the campaign manager for Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), according to campaign finance reports.

Businessman Gregory Brown says he challenged Rep. James Clyburn, the highest-ranking African American in Congress, in the Democratic primary on Tuesday because he's worried about the state's poverty rates and failing schools. Clyburn (D-SC) charged this week that Brown is such a political novice that he must be a "plant."

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