Free Republic

The race for the Republican presidential nomination has pivoted towards South Carolina’s January 21 primary. Because the state’s primary voters have selected the eventual GOP nominee in every contested White House race since 1980, every campaign is putting out a maximum effort. One of the aces that Mitt Romney believes he holds in the Palmetto State is the endorsement of Nikki Haley, the new 39-year-old governor who rocketed to political stardom last year by challenging the good-ol’-boy political network in the state. Fueled by endorsements from both Sarah Palin and Romney, Haley was able to marshal tea-party support to crush...

(Reuters) - In South Carolina, the governor's mansion is on the grounds of a former arsenal that was burned down by the Union army during the Civil War. These days, that attack in the 1860s seems a metaphor for the besieged tenure of Republican Governor Nikki Haley. Elected last year as a symbol of the conservative Tea Party's rise in U.S. politics, the embattled Haley has had a rocky transition from government critic to government executive -- and potential player in the 2012 presidential campaign. Democrats and Republicans alike accuse her of being petty and distant. And some of the...