Sen. Jim DeMint (R., S.C.) will not endorse in the GOP gubernatorial runoff between Nikki Haley and Gresham Barrett:
There has been speculation among South Carolina politicos in recent days that Republican Sen. Jim DeMint would endorse Gresham Barrett in a gubernatorial runoff against Nikki Haley . . . Despite the chatter, multiple GOP sources told CNN Wednesday that DeMint will not endorse either candidate in the primary.
A bit surprising. You would think that DeMint, a tea-party hero, would hustle to back Haley, this week’s conservative rock star. For what it’s worth, CNN speculates about why the senator is sitting this one out:
But DeMint and Barrett have a long history in the clubby and interconnected world of South Carolina politics. Besides sharing the same political consultants, who made sure to plaster DeMint’s image all over Barrett’s campaign literature, Barrett gave DeMint a key endorsement in his 2004 Senate race.