Nikki Haley Called Ethnic Slur by South Carolina Lawmaker

The best you can say about the South Carolina political scene is that it's not boring. But while recent headlines have been about sex, the latest controversy returns to that old South Carolina favorite -- race.

On an Internet political talk show, GOP state Sen. Jake Knotts on Thursday called state Rep. Nikki Haley, a gubernatorial candidate, a "raghead" -- a slur used against Arabs or other ethnic groups who wear turbans -- and talked about Haley's family and her parents' religion.

"We already got one raghead in the White House," Knotts said on "Pub Politics." "We don't need another in the governor's mansion."

Haley is the daughter of Indian immigrants. She was raised as a Sikh but converted to Methodism and has said she attends services in both faiths, according to The State newspaper. In Haley's 2004 winning run against the longest-serving lawmaker in the S.C. House, anonymous fliers incorrectly claimed that she was a Hindu.

Knotts' comments about Haley and Obama were "intended in jest," Knotts said in a statement. "Bear in mind that this is a freewheeling, anything-goes Internet radio show that is broadcast from a pub. It's like local political version of 'Saturday Night Live.' Since my intended humorous context was lost in translation, I apologize. I still believe Ms. Haley is pretending to be someone she is not, much as Obama did, but I apologize to both for an unintended slur."

In an e-mail statement, state GOP Chairwoman Karen Floyd said, "The South Carolina Republican Party strongly condemns any use of racial or religious slurs."

The show's host, Wesley Donehue, said in The State, "I, along with everyone else at the table, was shocked" at Knotts' remarks.

Though Knotts and Haley are both from Lexington, they stand on opposite sides of GOP state Republican politics. Knotts has backed Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, one of Haley's opponents in the June 8 GOP primary. In the past, Haley has supported outgoing Gov. Mark Sanford, a Knotts adversary.

On Thursday, Bauer challenged Haley to take a polygraph test to refute allegations of extramarital affairs. Haley has denied the claims by political blogger Will Folks and lobbyist Larry Marchant, who was a Bauer campaign consultant until he resigned this week. Bauer offered to take a test to prove he had nothing to do with pushing the story.

Haley calls the charges a distraction from the real issues facing the state, and has broadcast an ad emphasizing her political vision and featuring her husband of 13 years and their two children. On Thursday, she said that if she is elected governor and evidence of an affair surfaces, she would resign.

Sarah Palin is unwavering in her support of the woman she calls "my good friend" in a recorded call to voters.

"Nikki is a strong, pro-life, pro-business, conservative reformer. And she isn't afraid to take on the entrenched powers," the former Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate says in the message. "When you do that, they come after you with all kinds of made-up nonsense to try to knock you down. Believe me, I've been there."