Popular SC First Lady Endorses Governor Candidate

JIM DAVENPORT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Disgraced South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford might not have much political capital these days, but his wife is using hers.

Jilted first lady Jenny Sanford endorsed Republican state Rep. Nikki Haley in a letter made public Wednesday to succeed her term-limited husband in 2011.

Mark Sanford has long complimented Haley for her efforts to make the Legislature more accountable, including by forcing more roll call votes. Haley's Internet home page once displayed his photo, but that disappeared after Sanford skipped the state in June and returned to confess a yearlong affair with an Argentine woman.

Jenny Sanford's letter supporting Haley could help a campaign that finished the third quarter with $273,061 in cash on hand — the least in a five-way GOP primary in June.

Jenny Sanford was a former Wall Street executive, has ties to wealthy donors and a reputation for running her husband's political campaigns.

It "gives her some credibility when Jenny Sanford says 'I'm supporting her,'" said Danielle Vinson, a Furman University political scientist. "We're not used to first ladies just openly endorsing people and when they do, it's news. That brings a little attention, at least for a while."