Gov Mitt Romney campaigns with then-gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley in Bamberg, SC October 29, 2010.
South Carolina’s new Republican governor sent a signal on Sunday that former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) might not expect candidates she endorsed in the 2010 elections to necessarily return the favor in 2012.
S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley (R) said that she doesn’t feel any special obligation to Palin, who endorsed Haley at a critical juncture of last year’s Republican gubernatorial primary.
“I have not in any way endorsed, plan on endorsing at this point in time at all. I want all the candidates to come to South Carolina,” Haley said on ABC when asked if she’d endorse Palin.
“I want the people of South Carolina to get to see them the way I know them. I want them to campaign hard. And then when right time comes, I will endorse. But there’s is no one that I feel like I owe at this time,” Haley added.
Sarah Palin isn’t the only person that endorsed her in her 2010 bid to become Governor. Mitt Romney also endorsed Nikki Haley as well and wrote out a $3,500 check to her campaign. It’s important to remember that Nikki Haley endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2008 elections. The only other potential 2012 candidate is Mike Huckabee but he did not endorse Governor Haley. Instead, he supported Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer.
The article then goes on to say getting Senator Jim DeMint’s approval could be a factor in winning the primary election in South Carolina:
The endorsement of the state’s conservative icon, Sen. Jim DeMint (R), could also be particularly important in determining the outcome of the primary.
Jim DeMint has been a long time fan of Mitt Romney. In fact, he endorsed Mitt Romney during the 2008 elections as seen in the clip below (Feb 6, 2007):
Capturing these endorsements for 2012 would be a nice plus for Romney because he did not win the 2008 South Carolina primaries:
In 2008 he spent more than $2 million on TV ads in the state to win 15.3 percent of the vote, carrying none of the state’s counties
South Carolina is important because it is usually the third state to host the primaries after New Hampshire and New Jersey. It is the first primary to be held in the South.
Winning South Carolina won’t be easy for Romney. He will still have to compete with Sarah Palin (if she decides to run) and other 2012 contenders for endorsements. His faith was a factor in the last presidential elections but may not be a bigger issue in this election. However, given that South Carolina is southern, it is an issue to consider. Finally, Romney came in fourth in the 2008 South Carolina primary.
While Governor Romney will face a challenge in winning the 2012 South Carolina primaries, I think he has the advantage here. There is a substantially high probability that he that he will get the endorsements from both Nikki Haley and Jim DeMint given that they both did support Romney during the 2008 Presidential elections.
Moreover, South Carolina is hurting economically. The unemployment rate is 10.7% and is declining. Thus, the biggest issue for the people of South Carolina will be the economy. Those who live there will surely want a strong, fiscally sound conservative who can create the necessary conditions for jobs to come back and improve the economy.
In my opinion, the best candidate for South Carolina is none other than Mitt Romney.
South Carolina has a bad habit of voting for whichever candidate is seen as the heir apparent to the nomination. The GOP has a horrible habit of nominating some guy because “It’s his turn.” South Carolina has one of the worst reputations for perpetuating that tradition. When there is no clear “his turn” candidate, the race in South Carolina sometimes stumbles towards better candidates. In 2000, there was no clear candidate about whom one could say that his turn had come, and John McCain flirting with pro-abortion stances and insulting Bob Jones destroyed his campaign there.
Granted, Mr. Romney could benefit from the “his turn” vote in 2012, but that’s a terrible reason to vote for Mr. Romney. People should be voting for Mr. Romney because of his executive experience and his willingness to put this country first. If all we can offer is “his turn” arguments, we should be ashamed.
I understand the governor and senator holding back on their endorsements. A sad fact of modern life is that politics has become a major business, particularly in early primary states. I’m sure that some hotels in Iowa and New Hampshire would go out of business if those two states lost their places as early decision states. South Carolina is undoubtedly trying to make some money as a place where politicians travel with their entourages. The state will also benefit from the advertising dollars spent next year. An early endorsement and loss of suspense about the outcome of the primary would reduce much of the revenue to be made in the process.
What the rest of us must do is refuse to let the outcomes of a few early states determine how we will vote in the primaries.