Nikki triumphs, a big win for Sarah and the libertarian wing

- by Eric Dondero
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AP: She's "Libertarian" with a Capital "L"

Nikki Haley finished with 49% of the vote in the GOP primary last night. Her nearest rival gained 22%, which makes the outcome of any run-off all-but-certain.

Her huge win is being heralded, even by the liberal media, as a victory for libertarians and for libertarian-leaning Sarah Palin.

From Google News via the AP:

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina's Nikki Haley entered a runoff for the Republican gubernatorial primary with a substantial edge over her GOP rival, deflecting attacks on her marriage and her ethnicity using an antiestablishment message that resonated with the state's voters.

"We saw us push against the establishment, we saw us push against the power and push against the money and boy did they push back," Haley, a three-term state lawmaker and tea party headliner, said after coming close to winning the four-way race outright.

Continuing:

Haley blamed an entrenched "Good Old Boy" system for conspiring to derail a campaign that gained steam with a slew of television ads and a spirited endorsement by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. She pivoted off the claims to underscore an antiestablishment message that has so far resonated.

Haley's politics are familiar to the state's conservative voters. She hews to the Libertarian, limited government policies favored by Sanford, though she distanced herself from him. He backed her candidacy and she won the endorsement of his ex-wife, popular former first lady Jenny Sanford.

- E.D.

Regular contributor Eric Dondero is a Texan and the Publisher/Editor of Libertarian Republican.