Governor Haley Endorses Larry Martin

Governor Nikki Haley has thrown her support behind Sen. Larry Martin in the Senate District 2 Race.

Haley announced her endorsement of Martin, who faces petition candidate Rex Rice, during a press conference held in front of City Hall Thursday afternoon.

Haley said Martin has been one of her strongest allies since taking office.

She said when she took office, she decide to give every House and Senate member “a clean slate.”

“I said, 'We're going to start over,'” Haley said. “We're going to make sure get South Carolina back on track. We're going to bring jobs to the people of this state. We are going to make sure every small business feels like they have somebody fighting for them

“And we are no longer going to let the rest of the country think we are this archaic state that they think negatively about,” she continued. “We're going to be able to say, 'It's a great day in South Carolina,' and we are going to be able to mean it.”

To accomplish that, “some hard things needed to be done,” Haley said.

Sen. Martin fought for tort reform.

“When trial lawyers were trying to get to us, he kept in mind his small businesses,” she said. “He stood with me on that. He led the floor on that and he made it happen.

Officials tried for years to get Governor and Lt. Governor on the same ticket, she said.

That question will be on the Nov. 6 ballot.

“Sen. Larry Martin led the floor and fought for that,” Haley said. “That's something that changed the structuring of the staten and it changed what's best for the people, and you get to decide that.”

South Carolina is the only state in the country without a Department of Administration.

“As a CEO, imagine not having any control of your HR, not having any control over your IT services ,” Haley said. “As a CEO imagining having no control over your buildings or your cars or the cell phones that we use. That's me. That's the governor in this state. What we wanted to do was take all of those back office procedures and put them into a Department of Administration, so that the emails and Internet Services talk to each other, so that we can save money. So that the missions of each agency worked, and worked for the people.”

Her first year, that effort got through the House, but didn't get through the Senate.

“That second year, I sat down with Sen. Larry Martin and I said, 'I need this to happen, how do we get this done?'” Haley said. “And he fought and he fought and he fought until the very last minute. He stood on the floor of the Senate all day, without a break, fighting to do something that was not popular with the senior members in the Senate. He took a lot of heat for that.”

Haley spoke to a group of East End Elementary School students who attended the event.

She told them that doing the right thing is sometimes hard, but it's important.

“Because it shows courage,” Haley said. “When you show courage, you are always doing the right thing. Sometimes you get criticized for it and sometimes people get mad at you. But it's the right thing to do.”

Martin has had the courage to stand by her in some tough fights, she said.

“He showed courage when I needed him to show courage,” Haley said.

She said area voters have a decision to make.

“I have a partner,” Haley said, adding that as Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman, Martin is “probably the closest person I need to get real restructuring and reform done.”

“I don't just have a partner, I have a fighter in Larry Martin,” she said. “It's a fighter I'm not willing to give up because it's a fighter who's been there every single time I've needed him.”

She said Rex Rice was a friend of hers and they served together in the House.

“The hardest part about dealing with (Martin's) opponent is there was never a tax increase he didn't like,” Haley said. “Whether it was taxes on businesses, whether it was taxes on businesses, we were constantly dealing with the fact that he was for tax increases. I am constantly fighting for this General Assembly to realize we have to reduce taxes for individuals, reduce taxes for small businesses. I can't afford to have another legislator in there that's going to fight me to increase taxes.”
“What you see is what you get with Larry Martin,” Peeler said. “And let me tell you what you get – you get good, strong conservative pro-business government. That's what you get. He's either authored or co-authored most of the strong pro-business legislation in the Senate. For example, immigration reform, on-the-recording voting, Department of Administration, workers compensation, tort reform The list goes on and on and on. Larry Martin is a great member of a conservative team and we need to keep him in the South Carolina State Senate.”

Martin said the elementary school students were an example of what it's all about.

“All these young people here today, your future is based on what we do today, the foundation we're building today for jobs and the education you receive in your local school,” Martin said.

He said outside interest groups are attempting to influence the election by airing ads depicting a Larry Martin “that doesn't really exist.”

Martin said he's always tried to do his very best to represent all his constituents each and every day.