When South Carolina state Rep. Tim Scott (R) threw his hat into the race to replace Rep. Henry Brown (R) one of his new primary opponents immediately blasted Scott for giving up on what he termed a "failed" statewide bid.
A look at how Scott's fundraising was going and the numbers in an internal poll both show that Scott got out of the race for the lieutenant governor nomination way too soon in the season to call that campaign a failure.
A poll conducted for the Scott campaign found that no candidate was more popular -- and also showed that none of the three contenders had broken through yet; of 419 likely primary voters surveyed, 69 percent were undecided or had no opinion.
Scott was the leader among the sliver of GOP voters who did have an opinion, but not by much: He was favored by 15 percent of those responding; attorney Bill Connor was the favorite of 12 percent; and Florence County Councilman Ken Ard took 4 percent
The survey was conducted Dec.1 to 3, and with a 3.8-point margin of error, Scott's edge was too slim to call him the runaway leader in the GOP lieutenant governor's race.
Scott was better positioned when it came to the money chase for that statewide primary.
According to state financial disclosure reports filed in January, Scott's $270,000 in money raised was tops in the GOP primary field. Ard led in available cash, though, after loaning his campaign $300,000.
When Scott launched his House campaign on Monday, rival 1st district candidate Carroll Campbell III (R), who had been in the race long before Brown annouced his retirement plans, released a statement criticizing the move:
"It appears that Tim Scott will be trying to run for his third office in just two years; abandoning what appears to be a failed campaign for Lt. Governor," Campbell said. "Mr. Scott is just another politician in a string, all scrambling over one another to get into a campaign I have been in for nearly a year. The people of South Carolina are tired of political opportunists."
CQ Politics rates the general election race for that seat Likely Republican.
To follow all the 2010 House races, check out our election map.
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