South Carolina

Haley Home Free In South Carolina Governor's Race?

Justin Elliott | June 9, 2010, 10:56AM

After weathering two frantic weeks of claims of infidelity, polygraph stunts, and outright racism, South Carolina Republican Nikki Haley won big in the GOP gubernatorial primary Tuesday -- though not quite big enough to avoid a runoff in two weeks with Rep. Gresham Barrett.

Haley got 48.8 percent to Barrett's 21.8 percent; she needed to top 50 percent to avoid a runoff June 22.

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Topics: 2010 Elections, Gresham Barrett, Larry Marchant, Nikki Haley, South Carolina, Will Folks

Nikki Haley

Marchant Polygraph Test 'Inconclusive' On Haley Affair Claim

Justin Elliott | June 8, 2010, 8:47AM

In the latest in a continuing string of last-minute stunts in the South Carolina gubernatorial race, lobbyist Larry Marchant has taken a lie detector test about his claim of a one-night stand with front-runner Nikki Haley back in 2008.

The results of the test, which was sponsored by the local FOX affiliate? Inconclusive.

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Topics: 2010 Elections, Larry Marchant, Nikki Haley, South Carolina

South Carolina

Haley: I Will Resign If Affair Claims Are Validated (AUDIO)

Justin Elliott | June 4, 2010, 9:08AM

During a radio interview Thursday afternoon Nikki Haley said she will resign if she is elected governor and the claims that she had extramarital affairs are proven to be true.

Keven Cohen of Columbia's WVOC, a mostly friendly interviewer, put the question to Haley in stark terms. Here's the exchange:

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Topics: 2010 Elections, Larry Marchant, Nikki Haley, South Carolina, Will Folks

South Carolina

Haley's Damage Control Strategy: Blame Her Enemies (VIDEO)

Justin Elliott | June 3, 2010, 12:29PM

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Nikki Haley's response to claims of infidelity has not been her denials, but the gusto with which she is blaming her opponents for orchestrating the allegations.

This instinct was on display at a debate in Charleston last night when Haley directly accused Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer of dirty politics for pushing the (she says) bogus story of a 2008 one-night stand with a Bauer campaign consultant, Larry Marchant.

Haley, the frontunner in the South Carolina GOP gubernatorial primary, has been following this tack since blogger Will Folks 10 days ago alleged an affair and Haley promptly accused her enemies of being behind the claim.

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Topics: 2010 Elections, Larry Marchant, Nikki Haley, South Carolina, Will Folks

South Carolina

Marchant On Haley: 'I Know In My Heart What Happened' (VIDEO)

Justin Elliott | June 3, 2010, 10:15AM

Here's some video you don't see every day: Larry Marchant, a respectable, well-coiffed South Carolina Republican lobbyist whose clients have included major players like the state Chamber of Commerce, describing in uncomfortable detail his alleged affair with a leading female gubernatorial hopeful.

"I had an inappropriate physical relationship with Nikki Haley. What happened was, one time, one of those things. ... I spent the night with Ms. Haley, and we had sexual relations. We had sex," says the married Marchant, wearing a pinstripe power suit and pink tie, in an interview with WCBD in Charleston.

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Topics: 2010 Elections, Larry Marchant, Nikki Haley, South Carolina

South Carolina

Second SC GOP Consultant Claims Affair With Nikki Haley

Justin Elliott | June 3, 2010, 8:49AM

So much for "What happens in Salt Lake City stays in Salt Lake City" ...

A second South Carolina GOP political consultant is claiming he had an affair with gubernatorial hopeful Nikki Haley -- a one-night stand in her hotel room at a June 2008 school choice conference in Salt Lake.

Here's the twist: the consultant, Larry Marchant, worked until his resignation yesterday for Andre Bauer, the current lieutenant governor and one of Haley's opponents in the Republican gubernatorial primary, which is just five days away.

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Topics: 2010 Elections, Larry Marchant, Nikki Haley, South Carolina, Will Folks