Nikki Haley, Palin-Backed Candidate, Denies Affair With Blogger
Updated 3:37 p.m. Eastern
Republican Nikki Haley, who is hoping to succeed Mark Sanford as South Carolina governor, is denying a claim by Republican blogger and former Sanford aide Will Folks that the two engaged in an "inappropriate physical relationship" several years ago, before he was married.
Folks writes that he decided to come forward because "within the last forty-eight hours several pieces of information which purportedly document a prior physical relationship between myself and Rep. Haley have begun to be leaked slowly, piece by piece, to members of the mainstream media. I am told that at least one story based upon this information will be published this week."
He says he will not be discussing the relationship further.
"People are human. We make mistakes," he writes. "... I can sleep at night knowing I handled this the best way I knew how (the way my wife and I decided together that it needed to be handled), which was to simply tell the truth."
Haley's campaign told WIS-TV that it "emphatically" denies Folks' claim.
"I have been 100% faithful to my husband throughout our 13 years of marriage," Haley said in a statement. "This claim against me is categorically and totally false."
Haley's candidacy has been on the rise thanks in large part to an endorsement from Sarah Palin, who campaigned for her earlier this month. Also campaigning for Haley was Jenny Sanford, who divorced current governor Mark Sanford after revelations of his infidelity.
As Ben Smith notes, Haley, speaking of Sanford, has vowed that she is "not going to screw up like he did." Smith also reports that Folks was on Haley's campaign payroll in 2008.
With the GOP primary scheduled for June 8th, polls show Haley leading GOP primary combatants Attorney General Henry McMaster, Rep. Gresham Barrett, and Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer.
UPDATE: Palin has posted a spirited defense of Haley on her Facebook page.
"South Carolina: don't let some blogger make any accusation against your Nikki if the guy doesn't even have the guts or the integrity to speak further on such a significant claim," she wrote. "And don't believe anything a liberal rag claims or suggests unless the reporter involved has the integrity and the facts to report to you so you can make up your own mind. For traditional media to rely on an accusation via some blog entry is almost laughable, but I know the seriousness of it because that's exactly what my family and colleagues have had to put up with, every single day, for the past couple of years."
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regardless of motive, bets are chickychickybangbang comes clean in the next week.
This is typical of the sleaze in South Carolina but what if it is true? She is still the best candidate the Republicans have to offer.
The opposition is a scofflaw associated with a prior cokehead official (and it would be impossible for the cokehead to snort it all himself not that I am making an accusation), a good old boy whose only points to offer are a political appointment, a dubious lawsuit, and a corrupt department (I can personally attest to that),and a nobody who is apparently running just for the hell of it.
I have not assessed the Democrats yet but so far the Republicans have nothing to offer except Haley, with or without the proof of the allegation.
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Gosh, haven't we heard that before from a bunch of the "family values" Republicans? We'll see how this pans out.
I'm sure she was appalled at the accusations by blogger Drudge back when the "liberal rags" were publishing numerous lies about Whitewater and other "crimes' by the Clintons. Never mind the corporate funded right wing noise machine as it tries to distract from real problems.
But hey, if she's endorsed by Palin, she must have some value The New American Fascist Party so they'll keep supporting her.
Haley needs to sue the accuser for slander or libel. If she isn't willing to sue, then there is obviously a flaw in her denial. And guess what folks! That makes her a liar. I come from Northern Indiana where we just found out our 16 year representative had been lying to us for over 5 years about an affair.
If Haley is hiding something, South Carolina might as well get the liar out before it is too late.
Sad but True.
Again, the next two weeks will be dominated by this type of juicy gossip while the electorate forgets about unemployment, failing schools, and a federally mandated budget crisis.