Elizabeth colbert busch poll everywhere
CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) – Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch kicked off her general election campaign for South Carolina’s open congressional seat on Thursday, her sights set on beating former Governor Mark Sanford after he clinched the Republican nomination this week.
Colbert Busch, the sister of television comedian and political satirist Stephen Colbert, handily won last month’s Democratic primary. But she kept a low profile as 16 Republicans battled for a spot in the special election on May 7.
Sanford, 52, prevailed despite a 2009 scandal that had seemingly doomed his political career. As governor, he tried to hide an extramarital affair with an Argentine woman by falsely telling aides he was hiking the Appalachian Trail.
In an interview with WTMA radio after his primary runoff win on Tuesday, Sanford said his Democratic opponent for the seat he held for three terms before becoming governor was undefined on the issues.
“Right now in essence, we’re running against Stephen Colbert. It’s going to be tough running against a comedian who is well liked and has ties to the Lowcountry, but ultimately issues define a race,” said Sanford, referring to the coastal region in South Carolina where the race is taking place.
Sanford’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Colbert Busch, 58, hit back with a statement detailing her work history, which included serving as director of sales and marketing for the Orient Overseas Container Line shipping company.
She is now on leave as business development director for the Clemson University Restoration Institute in North Charleston to make her first run for office.
“I was disappointed to hear about Mark’s comment,” she said. “He has known me and my work for years…If those successes can’t convince Mark that a woman is capable of leading, I don’t know what will.”
Stephen Colbert weighed in on t
Some support Republican Mark Sanford. Far more back Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch.
But the political groups that have together poured $1.1 million -- 85 percent benefiting Colbert Busch -- into South Carolina's special congressional election are effectively uniform in where they're from: Washington, D.C.
Only one of the 10 political action committees, super PACs, nonprofit groups or party committees that have urged voters to support or oppose Colbert Busch or Sanford is based in the Palmetto State, and it's spent a pittance -- just $20,000, a Center for Public Integrity analysis of federal spending disclosures through Monday indicates.
And of the more than 20 contractors and vendors these political powerhouses hired to produce television attack ads, print flyers or place telemarketing calls, all but one are located outside South Carolina. The others hail from seemingly everywhere but: North Carolina, Virginia, Alabama, Maryland, Minnesota, Ohio and California, among others, according to federal records.
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So as many South Carolina voters hit the polls today to elect their newest 1st District congressional representative, they do so amid a torrent of out-of-state influence that's increasingly commonplace following the Supreme Court's Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision, which eliminated many restrictions on how outside political groups could raise and spend money to advocate for or against candidates.
Today's dead-heat special election, which features the state's philandering former governor against comedian Stephen Colbert's comparatively unknown sister, could foreshadow outside groups' activities in regularly scheduled midterms in 2014.
Congressional races in even the sleepiest states or districts could attract unprecedented attention from moneyed national entities that have little inherent connection to locals and prim From the moment she announced her special-election campaign, Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch has been viewed as something of a novelty candidate. That’s the downside of being the sister of comedian Stephen Colbert. The upside, of course, is that her brother is probably going to help her raise lots of money at consecutive fundraisers next weekend and by mentioning her campaign on his Comedy Central television show. And despite many people dismissing her chances in a pretty conservative South Carolina congressional district, nobody should count her out completely. The 1st Congressional District, formerly held by Tim Scott, R-S.C., who was recently appointed to fill a vacant Senate seat, went overwhelmingly for Mitt Romney last year, 58 percent to 40 percent. It also gave Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a big win in 2008, 56 percent to 42 percent. Although that suggests a Republican will be favored, there are some factors that could well make Colbert Busch, director of business development for an environmental research institute at Clemson University, a competitive candidate. Typically candidates of the minority party in such districts are unable to raise enough money to compete, but that shouldn’t be a problem for Colbert Busch. She’s also locking down the support of organized labor and was endorsed Saturday by House Minority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C. The electorate in special elections is notoriously hard to predict and will be far different than it would be on a normal election day. Colbert Busch is one of two Democrats running in the party’s primary for the seat; the Republican primary has attracted 16 hopefuls, including Mark Sanford, the former governor whose political career was tarnished by his affair with a woman in Argentina. Although he is considered a frontrunner for the seat, Sanford may not be the GOP’s best option. A poll from Democratic automated pollster Public Policy Polling in December showed his favorable ratin PPP has a long and solid record. The other pollster of this race does not. Red Racing Horses, a conservative website, commissioned a survey showing a dead-heat, 47-47, but the data analysis, survey design, and weighting was “the sole responsibility of Red Racing Horses,” which, in their own words, is “run by a team of 6 volunteer hobbyists.” Perhaps as a result, they found that women represented 60 percent of the electorate. Red Racing Horses also bought their call-list from Gravis Marketing, which was only spared the wrath afforded to Gallup and Rasmussen because they were never credible enough to merit significant attention. It’s too bad that there are only two surveys, but at least they agree that the race is close. Similarly, various news organizations have reported that Democratic and Republican private polls show a tight contest, with neither candidate building a lead outside of the margin of error. The Cook Political Report’s Dave Wasserman has moved the race back to a toss-up. Kyle Kondik at Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball now says the race "leans Republican," while The Rothenberg Political Report now characterizes the race as “toss-up, tilt Democratic.” I give very little weight to media reports about “momentum” based on anonymous sources or on-the-ground observations, since I have no way of distinguishing reasonable claims from ridiculous assertions, but it is a data-point on the side of Sanford, even if a minor one. Based on the available evidence, there’s not much cause to believe either side has a clear advantage. But to the extent that one can squint at a close race and search for tie breakers, most clues to tilt Sanford’s way: the most recent survey shows him ahead, if narrowly; there is a tenuous case for “momentum;” and most importantly, he’s fighting on friendly territory. The district voted for Romney by 18 points and, consequently, most undecided voters are Republican-leaners. According to PPP, undecided voters supported Romney by a 34-point mar