Tom Davis, Baby

STATUS QUO INCUMBENTS ARE OUT, ON THE ROPES IN THE SOUTH CAROLINA SENATE

FITSNews – June 10, 2008 – In the end, it wasn’t even close.

The status quo forces that keep holding our state back year after year threw enough mud to line the banks of the Mississippi at Tom Davis, but the former Governor’s Chief of Staff not only prevailed – he flat out impaled State Senator Catherine Ceips and her minions of misinformation.

Davis trounced Ceips in Beaufort County last night by a 56-44% margin, the biggest upset of several surprise outcomes that will undoubtedly shift the balance of power in the State Senate in the taxpayers favor. Another liberal Republican incumbent, Sen. Randy Scott, was also defeated in Dorchester County, while three additional races featuring status quo candidates are headed to runoffs.

But it was Davis who withstood the most furious attack – fueled by at least $100,000 in soft money from big-spending politicians hoping to keep their “rubber stamp girl” in the red dress up in Columbia doing their special interest bidding.

Davis was gracious in his victory speech, praising Ceips for her service and going so far as to say he hopes to emulate the exemplary constituent work she’s done during her time as a legislator.

Not surprisingly, Ceips didn’t return the favor – attempting to attribute her landslide defeat to Davis being the recipient of out-of-state money. This of course, ignores the fact that it was Ceips’ campaign which was raking in all the out-of-state PAC cash.

From the Beaufort Gazette:

Ceips’ parting dig appears unfounded, as the vast majority of Davis’ campaign contributions came from individuals within the Senate district, according to campaign finance disclosure forms filed May 20. Unlike Davis, Ceips’ campaign took money from several political action committees and many out-of-district and some out-of-state donors, as well as local donors, according to her finance documents filed May 26.

Her parting shot was a continuation of a tone she had taken in the final days of the campaign. Her gloves came off Thursday during a candidate forum when she hurled accusations of Davis’ connections to a “pornographic” Web site, a fraudulent securities trader and political groups a black state Supreme Court justice characterized as “the new face of the Klan.”

The connections, which were repeated in television ads that led up to the primary, mischaracterized Davis’ role as the registered agent for the securities trader and the Web site’s umbrella company.

Yeah … in case you were wondering, you’re currently reading the “pornographic Web site” she ran all those nasty TV ads about.

Ceips went even further out of bounds when she accused our founding editor Sic Willie of being a “heroin user” at the final debate of the campaign, a charge that has landed her on the business end of our legal team’s disapproval.

Asked this evening if he was going to hold off on filing a slander suit against Ceips after Davis’ landslide victory, Sic answered emphatically “Hell no.”

“And I hope she irons that red dress for court.”

We’ll have more on all the winners and losers from the South Carolina primary elections, but for now it’s safe to say that the conservative movement in state government has itself a new leader.

The old guard threw every kitchen sink it could find to keep Tom Davis from winning this race, but in the end, it wasn’t even close.

Comments

Trackbacks

• Mr. History | FITSNews For Now
• Ten SC Club for Growth Candidates Win Seats in Legislature, Two More Now in Runoffs « SCHotline Press Releases
• Let The Spin Begin | FITSNews For Now
• Let The Spin Begin … Again | FITSNews For Now
• Round The Horn | FITSNews For Now
• Moving Chairs? :: FITSNews