Tuesday, Jun. 30, 2009

Timeline: Andre Bauer in the news

1997-99: Political unknown Andre Bauer, 27, manages a huge upset in the GOP primary, beating incumbent David Wright to win a House seat in an area that includes Irmo and Chapin.

1999-02: Bauer, 29, runs for the Senate in a special election, concluding his campaign by walking 125 miles across the district. He is considered an underdog but beats Newberry lawyer and former Democratic senator Tom Pope. Then-state GOP chairman Henry McMaster calls it “a testament to his almost superhuman work ethic.”

2002: Bauer, 33, beats two sitting Republican lawmakers, then Democrat Phil Leventis to become the country’s youngest lieutenant governor. Questions quickly crop up about his ability to govern when Gov. Mark Sanford is called up for service by the Air Force Reserves. Sanford declines to transfer power.

May 6, 2003: Rushing to the State House, Bauer is ticketed for reckless driving after police say he drove 60 mph in a 35-mph zone and ran two red lights in downtown Columbia. Bauer pulls over after four blocks, but the officer determines he is being aggressive, draws a gun and orders him to raise his hands. Bauer pleads guilty to two lesser charges; pays a fine for driving too fast for conditions, disregarding a traffic signal.

March 28, 2006: News breaks that Bauer has been stopped twice for speeding. Once, after being clocked at 101 mph on I-77, he gets on his emergency police radio to identify himself as “SC2.” He is not ticketed in either case.

May 23, 2006: Bauer crashes his private plane into trees on takeoff in Blacksburg, shattering his ankle and injuring his co-pilot. The NTSB lists the probable cause as the pilot’s failure to abort takeoff after the plane fails to reach adequate airspeed.

Other dust-ups:

• Critics early in Bauer’s Senate career claim he lives in downtown Columbia, not in his district. He says the Columbia address is an office, that he sometimes moves around while renovating houses but always maintains a home in the district.

• During a race for lieutenant governor, his campaign mails a postcard to Republican voters featuring photos of the party’s seven gubernatorial candidates. Under each is a flattering comment about Bauer — statements none of the candidates made.

— Compiled by Dawn Hinshaw

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