While rumors persist that Washington Republicans are pushing for Rep. Gresham Barrett — the runner-up in Tuesday night’s South Carolina gubernatorial Republican primary — to drop out the race against candidate Nikki Haley, his campaign says he’s “100 percent” in the runoff.
Barrett took in 22 percent of the vote, compared to Haley’s 49 percent. A runoff is scheduled for June 22, but Barrett is said to be resisting calls to withdraw from the race so Haley can focus her resources on the Democratic candidate.
Spokesman Robert Hughes confirmed to The Daily Caller that Barrett has no plans to leave the race. “Too much of this election has been dominated by things that don’t matter. But Gresham Barrett is fighting to make it about issues that do,” he said.
Haley’s campaign blew away the other contenders in Tuesday’s primary, despite facing unsubstantiated allegations of extramarital affairs with two political operatives. Gresham may be reluctant to drop out of the race, in the case any more allegations appears.
The Republican Governors Association all but asked Gresham to drop out after Tuesday’s results showed Haley just narrowly missing the chance to avoid a runoff. The group blasted out a statement in support of Haley saying: “The outcome is all but certain.”