COLUMBIA, S.C. — Tea Party favorite Nikki Haley, a Republican candidate for governor whose campaign gained momentum with recent endorsements from Sarah Palin and Jenny Sanford, vehemently denied allegations Monday that she had an inappropriate relationship with a political blogger several years ago.
Haley, a legislator vying to replace disgraced Gov. Mark Sanford, called the claim on the blogger’s website a smear. She questioned the timing, two weeks before the primary.
“I have been 100 percent faithful to my husband throughout our 13 years of marriage. This claim against me is categorically and totally false,” said Haley, a 38-year-old mother of two, in a statement.
The claim came from Will Folks, a conservative blogger who previously served as Sanford’s spokesman. Folks said the relationship took place in 2007 when he did communications work for Haley, including writing speeches and news releases. He offered no proof and refused to go into details.
“I’m not going to paint pictures,” he told The Associated Press.
Folks pleaded guilty to criminal domestic violence in 2005 and left the Sanford administration around that time.
