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ADVERSARIAL ENDORSEMENTS SPAWN POSTMORTEM WAR OF WORDS BETWEEN TWO TOP REPUBLICANS
A source very close to both Sen. Jim DeMint and Gov. Mark Sanford has told me that the two elected officials engaged in a “heated discussion” over the phone Wednesday regarding rivaling endorsements in the State Senate District 12 race.
Sanford threw his support behind Lee Bright, while DeMint backed Scott Talley. Bright won the race by 198 votes, but that didn’t stop Sanford from speaking his mind to DeMint.
According to the source, Sanford told DeMint to “stay in Washington” and noted his disagreement with the senator’s choice of candidate.
The source paraphrased the governor as saying that DeMint was a federal office holder and that his knowledge of South Carolina politics was represented by the fact that he chose Talley, who according to Sanford was the worst possible choice for real reform in state government.
In plain English, Columbia isn’t big enough for both of their egos.
Something else Columbia isn’t big enough for: Talley’s insatiable thirst for legislative receptions. Thankfully, he’ll be home in Spartanburg for a while.
Great picture of DeMint and Sanford. Aptly depicts their respective effectivenes”.
they certainly are a couple of pussies…
With combined endorsements against Knotts, ain’t no one left to blame but each other. Maybe Jenny should put them both in timeout for their little horseplay.
She’s got more balls than both of them combined.
One difference between the two men: DeMint has accomplished quite a bit in Washington whilst Sanford has lost battle after battle with members of his own party in Columbia.
Adam, if you’re pushing out this Sanford-DeMint conflict as a means of floating a possible Sanford challenge in the next Senate primary, then it’s a wasted effort. Sanford’s credibility rests almost solely on his adherence to conservative reform. It would be sheer hypocrisy to challenge someone who holds those same principles, and has more effectively governed by them.
Sanford would get crushed in the Upstate, and his support in the Lowcountry has eroded significantly. His future rests in the US House, perhaps replacing Henry Brown when he decides to retire.
I hear members of the General Assembly whine a good game about Sanford.
In 206, they sent their legislative champion into the ring to “take him out” and Moore couldn’t even mount a challenge.
It’s a joke to watch them get outplayed by him on a daily basis.
By the way, DeMint went 0-2 in the primaries.
Mike,
If I remember correctly, Sanford’s challenger in the last Republican gubernatorial primary was a Prosperity, SC, physician who began the race with zero name recognition and ended with over 30% of the vote.
So 1/3rd of the “Republican” voters voted against Sanford. Between the angry Clemson alum and the Lexington County hospital, that could have easily happened. That doesn’t even count as an almost win.
The Lexington Senate Race is just the recent example of what a joke our primary system is in this state.