S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley kicked off her 2014 reelection bid in Greenville, S.C. this week … bringing in a trio of out-of-state governors and a sitting U.S. Senator to her “rally” in front of the city’s 15,000-seat Bi-Lo Center.
Obviously Haley wasn’t holding her event inside the arena (that would have been awkward/ embarrassing visually and acoustically), but we would have expected to see at least several hundred people attend this much-hyped gathering. Especially since Team Haley has been promoting this event for weeks – and since sources tell FITS that these three governors (Bobby Jindal, Rick Perry and Scott Walker) were working the phones personally on Haley’s behalf in an effort to encourage attendance.
According to a photo (above) tweeted by reporter Dolph Bell of The Greenville News, though, Haley’s campaign kickoff crowd was much like her first term in office – a colossal disappointment.
Haley – who drew big crowds in 2010 – has seen attendance at her “movement” rallies fizzle ever since the Tea Party abandoned her (here and here). According to Bell, his initial crowd photo was taken nine minutes after the scheduled start time of Haley’s rally (the governor eventually took the stage a half hour later to the strains of Tom Petty’s 1977 hit “American Girl”).
Eventually we’re told “around 200” people attended the governor’s kickoff, although most of them were staffers of the assembled politicians, local elected officials and members of the media.
Weak …
Incidentally, not long after Bell’s first photo was posted he sent out another image of the “crowd” – at the urging of Haley’s campaign.
“Haley aide suggested I Tweet another photo of crowd,” Bell wrote prior to posting this …
Yikes …
Pics: @DolphBell
28 comments
Thought I noticed a foul odor wafting through town…
Bobby Mac at WORD, Greenville, apparently couldn’t stir up a crowd. Maybe Rose from Spartanburg was too busy to travel.
Seems to me the lack of attendance speaks to both Haley’s and Bobby Mac’s influence, the lack thereof.
From photo gallery in Greenville New
http://www.greenvilleonline.com/viewgal/?Site=BS&Date=20130826&Category=YOURUPSTATE05&ArtNo=308260069&Ref=PH&Item=0
Two images that suggest different stories
http://cmsimg.greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?NewTbl=1&Site=BS&Date=20130826&Category=YOURUPSTATE05&ArtNo=308260069&Ref=PH&Item=25&Maxw=620&Maxh=465&q=90
http://cmsimg.greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?NewTbl=1&Site=BS&Date=20130826&Category=YOURUPSTATE05&ArtNo=308260069&Ref=PH&Item=5&Maxw=620&Maxh=465&q=90
I like pic 5 of 120. Block 1 person, and half the photo. Makes for a HUGE crowd.
I hope,Tom Petty doesn’t find out.
It was a lousy crowd. I got there early cuse I was worried abut a good position. 200 people seem right though half were insider types that don’t count.
I voted for her, and probably will again. But she is a plastic politician spouting talking point. We deserve better
We do deserve better, so vote for someone better. At least do a write in instead or something.
“Will vote for again”????
Then it is people like you who are part of the problem!!!
PLEASE wake up!!
Embarrassing,
If she had a conscience she would feel awful in front of her Governor friends. But knowing her she blames them.
such a weird time and place for something like this. 4 pm on a Monday, and that plaza is in the middle of a ‘traffic island’ – it’s where I 385 ends/begins. Whole point of the rally was to get on the 6’clock news and take zero questions, just have the splash of Haley and Governors you have heard of before on the TV news. That’s it.
You are correct. It is all about the image. About the message of the day being broadcast.
In truth, politicians that operate that way hate the public. They believe we are dolts. Sadly, they get the votes needed to,stay in office so they can continue living like a queens while we pay the bills.
We should throw them out.
Mad,
Me too!
Throw them ALL out!!!
The title, “NIKKI HALEY’S MOVEMENT”. My movement earlier today reminded me so much of her! I was constipated and the pain in my ass was nearly unbearable!
“Join the Movement”, vote OUT Haley!
“It will be a GRET day in South Carolina”!
Then, “South Carolina Will Be Just ight”!
The crowd was driving down to see the crew at Jeff Duncan’s BBQ.
Can only handle so much hackery in one day AND Jeff had food!
A Nikki Haley movement is what you have when you have to run to the bathroom really quickly after you ate too much spicy curry.
That’s why ,Ringo was the 1st of The Beatles to leave India(useless rock and roll trivia)…
She came out on stage to Tom Perry’s “American Girl.” Um, he sent Michelle Bachman a cease-and-desist order when she tried to use it, so I don’t think he’d approve of Nimrata using it.
The coverage by the State newspaper was disgraceful. Cindy Ross Scoppe and crew are on board the Haley express. They repeat the talking points as if they were the gospel. The State actually seems to believe her jobs numbers.
Poor Vince does not have a chance as the campaign fakery is already “fact.”
I don’t know why she chose Greenville. There’s not a lot of support for her here.
It makes sense. She has Columbia/Midlands locked up. She has few friends in Charleston thanks to her fights with Harrell and McConnell and the whole port sellout. Greenville has been the staunchest GOP large city in the state for some time, and she probably thought she would shore up some support going forward. Given her failings with the Tea Party crowd, she might be looking to lock up more social conservatives, and if that is the case, Greenville is the place to be.
She doesn’t have the Midlands locked up. She is not popular in the liberal Republican Columbia suburbs.
I can see that. The city of Columbia itself is not a good place for a Republican to hold a rally. I was thinking more of the Lexington County-types with my comment.
Nice garbage cans though.
Picture 7 makes Tim Scott look like an ape. Well, he isn’t helping matters any the way he is standing.
who cares? the election is 14 months away. not going to get much attendance when your rally is in the middle of the day on a weekday.
I would have suggested a morning kickoff last Saturday– You get it out of the way before our lowest common denominators (her voters) are distracted by football season, and you do it on a day when folks don’t have to work. Instead, this was probably the only day those other governors could all get together, which means she sacrificed local attention/practicality for national attention/big names, and it blew up in her face.
On a related note, Sheheen’s op-ed laid out all of the reasons folks will choose to ignore his candidacy, proving once again that he’s as vanilla as a candidate can be. It’s like Jim Rex has taken over Sheheen’s body. I don’t get it.