Free Republic

Sanford wins, shows television can trump tradition JIM DAVENPORT Associated Press Writer COLUMBIA, S.C. - Former U.S. Rep. Mark Sanford handily won the Republican gubernatorial runoff Tuesday, advancing to the November election where he will take on first-term Democratic Gov. Jim Hodges. The primary and runoff contest shows South Carolina's voters can be swayed by a campaign that relied more on television time than traditional get-out-the-vote efforts. With 91 percent of the state's precincts reporting, Sanford had 58 percent to Peeler's 42 percent. Sanford had won the June 11 primary by about 3,100 votes. "It's the triumph of a different...

Former Gov. Campbell endorses Sanford bidPeeler's 'negative attacks' prompts GOP heavyweight to abandon his neutral stance By LEE BANDY Staff WriterDisturbed by Lt. Gov. Bob Peeler's "negative attacks" in the Republican gubernatorial primary campaign, former Gov. Carroll Campbell abandoned his stance of neutrality Tuesday and endorsed former U.S. Rep. Mark Sanford for governor.His support gives a boost to Sanford's campaign just a week before Tuesday's runoff. The winner faces Democratic Gov. Jim Hodges in the Nov. 5 general election."This is a real blow to the Peeler campaign," said Ron Romine, a USC Spartanburg political scientist. "I think people are smelling...

Lieutenant governor will kick off gubernatorial campaign here(Gaffney ,SC) By LARRY HILLIARD Ledger Staff Writer South Carolina Lieutenant Governor Bob Peeler couldn't imagine a better place to officially launch his gubernatorial campaign than Cherokee County. "I'll be there with my family and extended family," said Peeler, who now lives in Lexington. "Gaffney is my hometown and it's important to kick off my campaign there. It's where I grew up working side be side with my brothers and father (in the milk business.) "It's going to be a good casual event to enjoy each other's company." The campaign fundraiser, billed...

A Palmetto Journal analysis of contributions to federal candidates over the past 20 years by Republican gubernatorial candidates turned up some interesting facts. The two most notable ones involved Lieutenant Governor Bob Peeler and Attorney General Charlie Condon. When both were nominated for their current positions in 1994, an article in The State pointed out that the top 3 GOP nominees (including David Beasley) had all been Democrats less than 5 years before. In 1988, Al Gore ran for President as a moderate Democrat. In fact, at that point Gore's voting record indicated him to be staunchly pro-life (before his...