Stations Pull Misleading Ad in S.C. Governor's Race

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - South Carolina television stations are pulling an ad after receiving a cease-and-desist letter from an attorney for Catherine Templeton, who's mounting a primary challenge to Gov. Henry McMaster.

Correspondence obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press confirms that several stations owned by the Sinclair Broadcasting Group have taken down the 30-second spot critical of Templeton, who says the ad is inaccurate.

The Palmetto PAC ad says Templeton was fired by the state health agency and Revenue Department. It cites an article by the Post and Courier of Charleston, in which sources told the paper Templeton had been pushed out. But U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who was governor at the time, backed up Templeton's claim that she left on her own.

Templeton's campaign tells AP she "won't back down" from false accusations.