New pro-Haley political group organized
Republican Gov. Nikki Haley's top strategist launched a new political group this week that can raise unlimited contributions to back her political causes, including unseating incumbents in the GOP-controlled S.C. Legislature.
Tim Pearson, a former Haley chief of staff who ran her two gubernatorial campaigns, will run “A Great Day SC.” Butch Bowers, a Columbia attorney who represents Haley, is listed as the organization’s record custodian in a new filing with the Internal Revenue Service.
The organization is named after Haley’s catchphrase, “It’s a great day in South Carolina.” The governor ordered cabinet agencies to answer phones with the phrase soon after taking office in 2011.
A similar pro-Haley organization, called the Movement Fund, raised $1.8 million from 2011 to 2014. The fund spent money to help Haley-backed challengers in State House races, including helping to oust one state senator who was a political foe of the governor. Pearson became a consultant with the fund after he left the governor’s office in 2012.
The creation of A Great Day SC comes less than three weeks before filing begins in state legislative races. All 170 seats in the S.C. House and Senate are up for election this year.
Most recently, Haley has fought lawmakers over roads funding, insisting any increase in the state’s gas tax must be offset by a cut in the state’s income tax, and changing ethics laws to require more financial disclosure by legislators and independent review of their ethics.
Pearson, who has been a private adviser to the governor since her re-election, declined Friday to say who the organization might target in the upcoming elections. He also declined to say who is funding A Great Day SC, but that information will be included in future filings.
The latest IRS filing did not reveal any donations to the new organization. A Great Day SC is what is known as a 527, a reference to the IRS code section that allows creation of tax-exempt organizations to promote political causes with no caps on contributions.
Haley should have little trouble raising money for the organization.
The 44-year-old daughter of Indian immigrants is a rising Republican star after her handling of the Charleston church massacre and the removal of the Confederate flag from the S.C. State House last year. Haley also gave the nationally televised Republican response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address.
Haley raised a record $8.4 million for her 2014 re-election bid with almost half of those contributions coming from out of state.
That was in addition to the $1.8 million raised for the pro-Haley Movement Fund. That money paid for ads and mailers to promote challengers who the governor backed in 2012 state Senate races.
The fund spent nearly $140,000 on Katrina Shealy, who defeated state Sen. Jake Knotts, a Lexington Republican who was one of Haley’s major foes in the State House. The organization also spent more than $250,000 in an unsuccessful effort to unseat Senate Minority Leader Nikki Setzler, D-Lexington.
Later, the Movement Fund ran ads to promote Haley’s education initiative and attack the governor’s Democratic opponent ahead of her 2014 re-election bid.
The bulk of the fund’s donations, $1.5 million, came from four multimillionaires: Foster Friess of Wyoming, Bob Perry of Texas, Raj Mantena of Florida and Vivek Garpalli of New Jersey.
Another donor was GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump, who gave $5,000 in 2012.
Now, however, Trump and Haley are at odds. Haley has criticized Trump’s combative campaigning during the 2016 race and has endorsed one of Trump’s Republican rivals, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida.
The Movement Fund has not taken major contributions since mid-2014 and has about $5,000 on hand.
Pearson offered little reason – other than choosing to go in a “different direction” – for opening a new political organization rather than continuing the Movement Fund.
This story was originally published February 26, 2016 at 11:00 AM with the headline "New pro-Haley political group organized."