Charleston, SC—June 18, 2010, at 8 a.m. Republican Governor Candidate Nikki Haley held a press conference in Randolph Hall on the College of Charleston campus. Several well-known political figures accompanied her to show their support and publicly endorse Haley, including Henry McMasters, Jenny Sanford, and Mitt Romney.
Nikki Haley is headed for the runoff for Governor of South Carolina in the next week, and is still travelling and campaigning as hard as ever. Her “Join the Movement” campaign is promising in its platform and beliefs.
McMasters kicked the event off by saying “Let the unification begin now,” referring to Haley’s push to earn voters’ trust in her as well as the government, and calling for voters to stand behind her in the push for her election as governor.
Following McMasters was Haley’s friend and political colleague, as well as former South Carolina First Lady, Jenny Sanford. Sanford has previously spoken highly of Haley’s reformist attitude, targeting her support of the taxpayers and business of South Carolina. Along with Sanford’s obvious “girl power” opinion on having a woman in such a powerful office, she voiced her opinion on Haley as a person. She called her an “articulate and bright” woman, and “the right one to move us forward.” Haley’s political platform is characterized by small, efficient government and “accountability and transparency in the Legislature,” which according to Sanford is exactly what South Carolina needs.
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney took the stage next as the final endorser of Nikki Haley for the day, and proudly referred to her as a “next generation conservative” who can lead South Carolina in the right direction as governor. He has previously publicly approved of Haley’s fight against wasteful spending in the government and advocating of smaller government, and consistently speaks very highly of his friend Nikki Haley.
Romney introduced Nikki Haley herself, and she was welcomed to the stage with a grand applause. She said that she wants to impose term limits so that “fresh faces” will infiltrate the state government and push towards reform. Also, she is vying for income and spending disclosures because voters and taxpayers have a right to know what their money is going towards. Haley finished by saying that “we’re going to make South Carolina the state that makes everyone proud.”
After Haley won 49.5% of the primary vote, she is now preparing for the runoff. When asked about her plans for this race, she said that she is not treating the runoff any differently or less seriously than the primary, and that she still works hard at her campaign. In response to her promise of a different and better government, she said that she wants the government to understand the value of a dollar, just as the people should.
Dr. Brian McGee, Chair of the Department of Communication at College of Charleston, did a post-conference interview concerning Haley and her campaign and political views. He said that voters have a simpler choice with only two candidates, but that the two have lots of similar values and idea, and not many large differences on policies. There are definite tone and character differences, but voters still have an important choice to make. When asked his opinion on the impact of big name endorsements on the voters’ opinions, McGee said that it “may or may not make a difference” in the final outcome.
Nikki Haley is considered to be “one of the strongest fiscal conservatives in state government,” and this was very apparent during this press conference. One component of this push for fiscal conservatism is her plan to eliminate income tax for corporations in order to promote small business growth and to create more jobs for South Carolinians.
Surprisingly, nothing was directly addressed or asked about her affair allegations during the conference although it has brought drama to the political race. Conservative blogger Will Folks wrote on his blog that he and Haley had an affair several years ago while she was married. Nikki Haley vehemently denied these claims previously although rumors continue to circulate. Although this was left out of this most recent public meeting, the allegation still remains in the minds of South Carolina voters as the runoff election approaches.
Nikki Haley brings a strong platform to the table for the gubernatorial race in South Carolina. Her conservative views and reform plans, as well as her impressive endorsers, may just be enough to win her the runoff this week.
0 comments:
Post a Comment