Battlelines are drawn for the 2014 South Carolina governor's race

By Richard K. Barry 

State Senator Vincent Sheheen said yesterday that he will again run for governor of South Carolina. He lost in 2010 to then-Rep. Nikki Haley by the relatively narrow margin of 51.4 to 47 percent. 

Haley has not formally announced her intentions, but it is widely expected she will seek re-election.  

According to local press:

Sheheen said Wednesday he thinks Republican Nikki Haley's first-term record as governor gives him a better chance to win in his second try for the state's top office.

"In 2010, I ran because I thought I was best choice for governor, and I think, over the past three years, Nikki Haley has pretty much proven that," said the Kershaw County Democrat...

"People are tired having one of the worst unemployment rates in the country. They're tired of having roads crumble. They're tired of this administration putting forward no plans for public education."

*****

With Sheheen's announcement Wednesday, sniping from both sides began more than 18 months before the November 2014 general election.

"Not really much news here – he's been running for governor his entire adult life," said Haley political advisor Tim Pearson, who called Sheheen "a pro-labor union trial lawyer."

S.C. GOP chairman Chad Connelly added: "The Vince Sheheen that announced for governor today is even more liberal than the Vince Sheheen that voters rejected in 2010. Today's Vince Sheheen fully supports President Obama's failed policies."

And they're off!

Is it relevant that the last gubernatorial election in South Carolina took place on Nov. 2, 2010, a day when many things across the country were coming up Republican? I should think. In any case, a rematch for the two is likely to be close once again.