At least, that’s what I assume, based on what little I’ve heard about that race this year.
Today, Mike Fitts brought my attention to this piece on a Congressional Quarterly blog:
Rep. Bob Inglis (R-S.C.) appears to be headed to a runoff against Spartanburg County Solicitor Trey Gowdy (R) and his chances in that contest don’t look good, according to a new survey by Public Policy Polling.
Gowdy leads Inglis 37 percent to 33 percent while a trio of other GOP candidates each took less than 10 percent, according to an automated telephone survey of 300 likely 4th district GOP primary voters….
Gowdy is running as the anti-establishment candidate while attacking Inglis for moving to the center of the ideological spectrum since returning to Congress in 2004 (he served a six-year stint in the House in the 1990s).
Gowdy polled better among voters who identified themselves as part of the Tea Party movement and appears much more likely to pick up those voters who pick one of the second tier candidates on Tuesday. Meanwhile Inglis won’t be helped by the fact that 45 percent of 4th district GOP primary voters said they disapprove of the direction the Republican party is headed while just 26 percent said they approve.
This is extremely ironic. I first heard of Bob Inglis when he came out of nowhere as a sort of Stealth candidate of the right wing of the GOP. The MSM had no idea he was going to beat Democrat Liz Patterson. There was muttering about how he had done all his campaigning through churches rather than the usual channels — this was about the time that the religious right was making its move in the SC GOP, a wave that David Beasley would ride to the governor’s office after making his party switch.
Bob was from the beginning a true believer, an absolute opponent of wasteful spending. He earned my respect by being the only member of the SC delegation to vote against highway spending that would have benefited his own district. Politicians just didn’t do that — but Bob did.
He has continued to go his own way in the years since, and I don’t always agree with him — for instance, I think he was wrong to oppose the Petraeus troop surge in Iraq. But I’ve always respected him for having guts, and for thinking for himself. That’s all too rare in Washington today.
But the Republicans in his district — indeed, throughout our state, judging by the governor’s race — apparently don’t want that anymore. Frankly, watching the Tea Party and such, I’m getting to where I wonder whether they know what they want.
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it just don’t pay to be in the UnParty these days!