With his military experience, law degree and small-business background, Bill Connor is a undeniably well-rounded Republican candidate for lieutenant governor. He's also a very conservative candidate, earning the first endorsement the Myrtle Beach Tea Party handed out.
Connor spoke to The Sun News editorial board on May 20. A list of our questions appear below the video.
Columbia attorney Leighton Lord, a candidate for the attorney general's office, stresses that he would be a different kind of attorney general, one focused more on management and systemic reform and leaving the prosecution of individual cases to prosecutors.
He spoke to The Sun News editorial board April 23. Below the video is a summary of topics we discussed.
State Rep. Tim Scott, by all indications one of the frontrunners in the race for Congress, spoke to the editorial board Monday, May 24. Scott occupies an ideological position just to the right of the mainstream Republican Party, but is generally viewed as too established in politics for the Tea Party groups to be completely comfortable with him - in other words, an ideal contender for the Club for Growth endorsement he received almost immediately after announcing his candidacy.
Just underneath the radar of the fiercely competitive GOP primaries for governor and Congress are several other compelling statewide contests - notably, state superintendent, attorney general and lieutenant governor - each with at least three credible Republicans competing to run against a Democrat in the fall.
Ken Ard, a Florence County Councilman running for lieutenant governor, came to The Sun News on Tuesday as the first candidate from one of those races to seek a meeting with our editorial board.
Saturday’s editorial criticizes the apparent power grab underway
at the Horry County Council.
“Those
contributions are on my site, and there is nothing wrong with accepting that
money. It did not influence my vote in the same way that if anybody else who
spoke before council would have given me a contribution, it would not influence
my vote on council matters.” - Horry County Councilman Howard Barnard.
“I
considered any ethical concerns that might have given for either of us. After
reading the laws in the code of ethics, there was no violation on my part in
giving it and none on his part for accepting it. I feel completely sound in the
decision both politically and ethically.” - HorryCounty
administrator John Weaver.
Only the most diehard supporter of
either Barnard or Weaver could swallow these explanations for Weaver’s $500
contribution to Barnard’s campaign for County Council chairman, right in the
middle of Barnard’s efforts to get Weaver the administrator’s job.
Both the Myrtle Beach Republican Women's Club luncheon and the Carolina Patriots forum on Tuesday were visited by the same five candidates for Congress: Mt. Pleasant town councilman Ken Glasson, attorney Larry Kobrovsky, businessman Mark Lutz, Myrtle Beach accountant Clark Parker and Charleston County Councilman Paul Thurmond.
The luncheon allowed the candidates extended, free-form introductions of themselves followed by a handful of questions, while the forum offered more targeted questions and answers. You'll find clips of both events below, with some limited thoughts I had while watching.
State Rep. Nikki Haley undoubtedly faces the most uphill battle of any of the Republican candidates seeking the nomination for governor, given that her much smaller constituent base as a starting point (her Statehouse district, versus two statewide officeholders and a Congressman) and her decided fundraising disadvantage.
Even so, Haley's campaign has been tenacious, buoyed in part by the national interest in her candidacy. One early poll showed her a solid contender for the runoff, and although the campaign finance reports released this week showed her with less than half the money in the bank of any of Henry McMaster, Andre Bauer or Gresham Barrett, the pundits all said the half-million or so she has is enough to remain a viable candidate.
Unlike in some areas in the state, no candidate for governor can really make a legitimate claim to Horry County as home turf (though they all try), which makes it pretty much open territory. They've all passed through, but Haley's just spent four days in a row campaigning here this weekend - the first concerted push like that from a candidate we've seen so far.
Of course, it might take a fool to suggest a candidate named "Carroll Campbell" in South Carolina was ever not in the game, but the race for Congress had been starting to look that way.
The debate over tax incentives for two separate retail developments - a Bass Pro Shops in Greenville and a new mall in Jasper County - came to Myrtle Beach this week, courtesy of a visit from Gov. Mark Sanford.
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