Nash Emerging as SC1 Candidates Continue to Pull Punches

With less than two weeks remaining before the March 19 primary, much of the crowded field of GOP candidates has been reluctant to challenge each other on the issues. That trend continued on Thursday evening at the “Fight for the First” debate hosted by Patch.com, Republican Liberty Caucus of South Carolina, and the South Carolina Radio Network.

Approximately 200 people gathered at the North Charleston City Hall to hear 15 of the 16 GOP candidates for the First Congressional District.

The candidates were arranged in three groups of five for the purposes of giving them more time to highlight their differences and make their case directly to voters.

The event was culminated by a straw poll that saw Ray Nash finish first, followed by Mark Sanford and Sen. Larry Grooms. All told, 127 votes were cast in the poll.

The event marked the last time prior to Election Day that all of the candidates are scheduled to appear in a public forum.

Nash appeared in the first group and revived his commitment to constitutional conservatism.

In the second group, John Kuhn raised more than a few eyebrows when, during his closing remarks, he reminded voters that he had been married to the same woman for more than 20 years. He also noted that he had never been unfaithful to his wife. The comments were a jab at former Gov. Mark Sanford, who was in a separate group.

Over the past few days, Kuhn and Sanford have traded barbs that date back to Kuhn’s tenure as a state senator during Sanford’s first term as governor.

In the third group, Rep. Peter McCoy made a reference to his wife and mother, both of whom are “full-time” public school teachers, “not part-time.” The distinction by McCoy was directed at Teddy Turner who teaches an economics class on a part-time basis  at a private school in Charleston.

Sanford, regarded by many as the frontrunner, did not address criticisms of him, while generally staying above the fray.

On matters of substance, Kuhn took a hard line on immigration, saying he was against children being born in the United States becoming naturalized citizens.

Considering that Nash was working in Afghanistan when the special election for SC1 was announced, defeating Mark Sanford in a poll of any type qualifies as a surprise.

The candidates have crowded schedules as they head into the next-to-last weekend prior to Election Day.

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