Haley wins Republican nomination for governor in SC, Scott seizes early lead

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Haley wins SC runoff for governor

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Nikki Haley, an Indian-American woman, won the Republican nomination for governor and Tim Scott, a black lawmaker, grabbed a commanding lead in his bid for the GOP nod for a House seat in South Carolina primary runoffs Tuesday, a measure of racial progress in the Deep South and the GOP.

Six-term Republican Rep. Bob Inglis fell to prosecutor Trey Gowdy, making him the 5th incumbent member of the House or Senate to lose this year.

In North Carolina, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall overcame a challenge from state Sen. Cal Cunningham, winning the Democratic nomination to challenge GOP Sen. Richard Burr in the fall.

Voters in Utah and Mississippi also decided on their final nominees for November.

With her victory, state Rep. Haley moved one step closer to becoming the first female governor in the conservative-leaning state. She brushed aside allegations of marital infidelity and an ethnic slur to come within a percentage point of winning the gubernatorial nod outright on June 8. And with 40 percent of the precincts reporting in the runoff, she led with 63 percent of the vote to Rep. Gresham Barrett’s 37 percent.

Scott, also a state lawmaker, hoped to become South Carolina’s first black GOP congressman in more than a century. Scott, who has the backing of several Republican leaders in Washington, led Paul Thurmond, the son of the late U.S. Sen. and former segregationist Strom Thurmond in the runoff. The GOP-leaning district stretches down the Carolina coast and includes Fort Sumter where the first shots of the Civil War were fired.

If elected to the House, Scott would be the GOP’s first black lawmaker since Oklahoma’s J.C. Watts retired in 2003.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Nikki Haley, an Indian-American woman, won the Republican nomination for governor and Tim Scott, a black lawmaker, grabbed a commanding lead in his bid for the GOP nod for a House seat in South Carolina primary runoffs Tuesday, a measure of racial progress in the Deep South and the GOP.

In North Carolina, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall overcame a challenge from state Sen. Cal Cunningham, winning the Democratic nomination to challenge GOP Sen. Richard Burr in the fall.

Voters in Utah and Mississippi also decided on their final nominees for November.

With her victory, state Rep. Haley moved one step closer to becoming the first female governor in the conservative-leaning state. She brushed aside allegations of marital infidelity and an ethnic slur to come within a percentage point of winning the gubernatorial nod outright on June 8. And with 40 percent of the precincts reporting in the runoff, she led with 63 percent of the vote to Rep. Gresham Barrett’s 37 percent.

Scott, also a state lawmaker, hoped to become South Carolina’s first black GOP congressman in more than a century. Scott, who has the backing of several Republican leaders in Washington, led Paul Thurmond, the son of the late U.S. Sen. and former segregationist Strom Thurmond in the runoff. The GOP-leaning district stretches down the Carolina coast and includes Fort Sumter where the first shots of the Civil War were fired.

If elected to the House, Scott would be the GOP’s first black lawmaker since Oklahoma’s J.C. Watts retired in 2003.