A couple of months ago, in asking if and to what effect a Jenny Sanford political endorsement would manifest, I wrote:
It is no secret – nor should it be – that South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford’s estranged wife, Jenny, is a very smart woman and the person most responsible for his political career. Better than smart, she’s bright, wise and has a precise understanding of people, issues and values.
For reasons we all know, she is the most admired woman in South Carolina and certainly at the top of the national list. Strong, resolute and unashamedly committed to her ideals and religious convictions, she is another in a long list of women that demolishes the notion that women don’t have a place in politics.
Jenny Sanford is South Carolina’s Wonder Woman and she wields a powerful lasso of truth.
Today, Jenny Sanford endorsed Lexington State Representative Nikki Haley for Governor. Nothing about this surprises me. A woman of unquestioned principles, Ms. Sanford no doubt sees in Haley similarities in political and family value commitments. Both are purposeful women highly respected in a very male environment.
The advantages this endorsement will have to Haley’s are yet to be determined, but I expect them to be substantial. Among them:
- The “Nikki Haley is Mark Sanford’s lapdog” argument is dead.
- Wallets are popping open across the state and, no doubt, across the country.
- Because of Ms. Sanford’s stature following events of this summer, what she does pertinent to politics gets national attention. That attention will now shine on Haley.
I’m also drawn to the timing of the endorsement. I would have expected it to come after the first of the year, but now I’m wondering if maybe something else triggered the announcement. What could have happened that led Ms. Sanford to endorse NOW?
Well, there IS the advocacy by some South Carolina tea party folks for Charleston State Senator Larry Grooms for governor just yesterday. With controversy surrounding that endorsement along with rumors about nefarious tactics against Haley on Grooms’ behalf, Ms. Sanford’s announcement has check-mated that effort.
Will Jenny Sanford be the killer app Nikki Haley needs to win the Republican primary? We’ll see. But I’ll offer this thought: These are two strong, determined and smart women. Challenging them and all they can bring to a fight will be brutal.
THIS is gonna be fun!
Interesting points! Thanks for the analysis.
Yes, interesting post. You offered some great analysis.
My worry centers on Jenny Sanford’s endorsement of Mike Campbell in 2006, which didn’t work out too well.
Some in the SCGOP power circles are just going to see this as the Sanford’s thumbing their nose at the establishment rank-and-file yet again–as in not really a big surprise.
From what I am thinking–Nikki is trying to convince a lot of the party establishment that one major way she will be different than Sanford is that she’ll work better with the General Assembly than he has and won’t be as much of a grandstander looking to pick fights.
Where I hope the Jenny Sanford endorsement helps is keeping the reform minded conservative/tea party folks in the Haley fold and stop them from bleeding away to Grooms or somewhere else. It’s almost like a “psychic wink” to those conservatives who, despite all his failings, still recognize the value of Mark Sanford’s brand of politics, that the real conservative to get behind is Nikki Haley.
I just hope it doesn’t hinder Haley’s efforts to appeal to the party insider types as a viable alternative to the so-called “big three”.
Now we’re in 2010, The Columbia Tea Party refused to endorse Larry Grooms. His campaign has gone by the wayside and he has withdrawn. Nikki Haley is a woman with a backbone. We need backbones in our local politicians especially since some of them do not have one – much less a strong one.
I have been told that SC will not elect a woman governor. I disagree. I think we need a governor who is principled and will stand with those principles – no matter the cost. Such would be Governor Nikki Haley.