In GOP governor's race debate, Templeton frames herself as Nikki Haley 2.0
Toward the end of Tuesday night’s gubernatorial debate, the four Republicans on stage were asked to name the one South Carolinian — past or present — they would most like to take to dinner.
Lt. Gov. Kevin Bryant picked the late Carroll Campbell, a former S.C. governor and GOP icon. Greenville businessman John Warren named his father, who passed away recently. Former state Sen. Yancey McGill selected political adviser Bernard Baruch, who died in 1965.
Catherine Templeton picked Nikki Haley.
“I’d love to see her come back and take care of the state the way that she did,” Templeton said in one of her many debate answers that highlighted her ties with the former S.C. governor. “But until she does, I’m offering myself … to carry on what we started together in 2010.”
Templeton, seen as the top Republican primary challenger to Gov. Henry McMaster, spent much of the Greenville debate pitching herself to GOP voters as the second coming of Haley — the current U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, who is reaching Ronald Reagan-esque levels of admiration in S.C. Republican circles.
Templeton invoked her former boss while answering questions about school funding, a tuberculosis outbreak and whether it is possible for the Mount Pleasant attorney and former state official to be both a political outsider and a former government insider.
Templeton noted Haley “brought me to the dance” by tapping her to lead the state’s labor and environmental agencies, giving her a ”front-row seat” to view State House waste and corruption.
“I’m one of the first people that Gov. Nikki Haley asked to help her make it 'a great day in South Carolina,' ” Templeton said, invoking Haley’s catchphrase as she began her closing argument.
“I want you to help me make it 'a great day in South Carolina' again,” Templeton said as she finished, arguably, her strongest debate performance yet.
Templeton wasn’t the only Republican hoping to drill home a theme Tuesday night. With nearly every question, Greenville's Warren reminded voters that he is both a Marine veteran and a successful businessman, core parts of his argument that he has the leadership skills and business acumen needed in the governor's office.
Bryant, an Anderson Republican who spent a dozen years in the Senate, continued to preach that he is the only Republican in the race with a voting record that proves his conservatism.
McMaster sat out the event, having said he will attend only the two S.C. GOP-sponsored debates. In an entirely cordial event, the incumbent seldom was mentioned.
This story was originally published May 29, 2018 at 9:06 PM with the headline "In GOP governor's race debate, Templeton frames herself as Nikki Haley 2.0."