About 4 in 5 South Carolina lawmakers who responded to a recent survey conducted by The State said Sen. Vincent Sheheen, D-Kershaw, should be the state’s next governor.
The blind survey is not scientific. Each of the state’s 170 lawmakers was mailed a questionnaire and provided a self-addressed envelope with which to respond anonymously.
A little less than one-third of lawmakers participated, as 48 members of the General Assembly responded. There was a near equal split among the parties, as 26 Democrats and 21 Republicans participated. One lawmaker responded by declining to identify his party.
Of the 48 lawmakers who participated, 38 said they will cast a ballot for Sheheen in the Nov. 2 general election. That includes seven self-identified House Republicans and a Senate Republican. Ten respondents, all of them House Republicans, said they will vote for Republican Rep. Nikki Haley of Lexington.
The rest of the respondents were Democrats, all of whom said they plan on supporting Sheheen. No Democrats who responded said they planned on voting for Haley.
An issue in the race for governor has been which of the candidates would have a better working relationship with the General Assembly. Outgoing Republican Gov. Mark Sanford and the Republican-controlled General Assembly had a tense eight-year relationship.
Questions have been raised about whether Haley, a Sanford political ally, would maintain a working relationship with the General Assembly. After winning the Republican nomination for governor, Haley sought to assure legislative and business leaders she would not antagonize lawmakers as Sanford did.
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