South Carolina Will Not Pay for Primary

Julie Cobb | June 22, 2011 12:53 PM

South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley (R) told lawmakers there will be no room in the budget to fund the GOP’s first-in-the-South presidential primary in February.

The Republican Party states the primary will go on, even if the GOP has to pay the $1.5 million needed to fund it.

Gov. Nikki Haley, known for her conservative views and association with the Tea Party movement, stated taxpayer funds should not be used for minor functions, including primaries:

“Political parties have sufficient fundraising ability to offset the costs of partisan presidential preference primaries, and in a budget year like this one, it is my ask that we do not dedicate taxpayer dollars to something I believe does not rise to the level of a core function of government,” she wrote in a letter in March.

The attorney general is still contemplating a request by the electoral commission over whether to allow funds from last year’s elections to be used to help fund the February primary.