South Carolina Republicans Spar Over Sex Allegations in Primary Race

June 7, 2010— -- South Carolina voters will head to the polls Tuesday in a gubernatorial primary fraught with allegations of marital infidelity by the leading GOP candidate, which could have unexpected repercussions for the race to replace outgoing Gov. Mark Sanford this fall.

For two times in as many weeks, Republican state Rep. Nikki Haley, a 38-year-old married mother of two, has denied ever having had an extramarital affair despite separate, unsubstantiated claims to the contrary. The Tea Party-endorsed Haley holds a double-digit lead over her closest rival, Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, in several polls.

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Larry Marchant, a paid consultant to Bauer, said last week he'd had a one-night stand with Haley at a conference in Salt Lake City in 2008 but could not provide proof to back up the allegation.

"If Ms. Haley categorically denies that we had a physical relationship in Salt Lake City, Utah, she is not telling the truth," Marchant told ABC News.

He has since resigned from his post with the Bauer campaign.

Ten days earlier, political blogger Will Folks claimed he had an "inappropriate physical relationship with Haley" in 2007 and provided telephone and text records showing repeated contact with Haley at the time.

Haley has decried the late-race allegations as blatant, political attacks.

"I've been absolutely faithful to my husband for 13 years," she said during a televised debate in Charleston. "This is just disgusting politics."

South Carolina newspaper the State and The Associated Press have reported political and business ties among Bauer, Marchant and Folks, but Bauer has denied having had any involvement in making the allegations. "I haven't gotten involved in anyone else's personal relationship," he said during the debate.

"As Nikki Haley rises in the polls, the good old boys in Columbia see their taxpayer-funded fraternity party coming crumbling down," Haley campaign spokesman Tim Pearson said. "They will say or do anything to hold on to their power."

Haley, a three-term state representative who has been viewed as the hand-picked heir to embattled Sanford, caught many observers by surprise when she surged ahead in the polls last month, surpassing early front-runners U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett and state Attorney General Henry McMaster.