State: Labor Day Heats Up S.C. Governor's Race

Labor Day usually kicks off the traditional election season, though South Carolina’s governor’s race this year seemed to get going around Easter.

Perhaps that’s because the foes – Republican Gov. Nikki Haley and Democratic state Sen. Vincent Sheheen – are so familiar with each other. They are the first gubernatorial candidates meeting in a rematch in state history.

Polls suggest a repeat of 2010, when Haley won by 4.5 percentage points. The governor leads Sheheen by 3 to 17 percentage points, according to voter surveys this summer.

But even as Haley enjoys rising approval ratings and a large fundraising edge, she faces a challenge from a petition candidate with a heavily self-financed campaign who jumped out of the GOP primary to spend more time and money against the governor. Greenville attorney Tom Ervin has already put out just as many TV ads as Haley before Labor Day.

Ads started airing in March and April. Election season’s earlier start – or “election creep” – means voters are engaged earlier and people are paying attention longer, Sheheen campaign manager Andrew Whalen said.

And voters have had a hard time not paying attention to the race with all the ads – including some from Sheheen – that have appeared during morning shows, evening news and even on social media, websites and YouTube.

“Our campaign’s digital presence has been robust for a long time, but we have found that ... digital space is particularly well-suited for videos that tell the stories of the difference Gov. Haley makes for all South Carolinians – and there will be more of that,” Haley campaign spokesman Rob Godfrey said.

While the candidates might have bucked a little tradition with early ads, they have well-established habits of griping about each other’s pitches to voters.

Haley, a former state representative from Lexington, says in an ad that she helped move 20,000 S.C. residents from welfare-to-work, a figure that Sheheen believes is smaller.

Sheheen, a Camden attorney, ran an ad saying Haley hid theDepartment of Revenue hackingfor more than two weeks. The governor’s camp said the ad was misleading for failing to say law enforcement officials asked her to not reveal the breach at first.

A wild card in the race is Ervin, who spent $2 million for a month of TV ads to run through Labor Day. He produced four spots running statewide.

But the former state lawmaker and judge has a lot of ground to make up since entering the race in March.

Ervin received just 3 percent of support in a July poll of 650 likely voters, commissioned by four S.C. media outlets. Libertarian candidate Steve French, who has spent a fraction of Ervin’s outlay, received 2 percent. No other polls that include Ervin by name have been released since his TV ad blitz started.

Haley received 46 percent in the poll, while Sheheen netted 42 percent.

The Sheheen campaign says Ervin, who calls himself an “independent Republican,” will take away votes from Haley.

“Nikki Haley would be much happier if he weren’t running,” Whalen said.

Full Story at The State