http://66.225.205.104/JR20110627a.mp3
South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley has until Wednesday to sign off on - or veto - a $6 billion budget for the state. One item she's threatened to veto could end South Carolina's prominence in Republican presidential primaries. Republicans in South Carolina often boast of their "First in the South" status. The state's presidential primary is one of the earliest in the season - typically in January or February - and has consistently predicted the eventual Republican nominee since 1980. It'll cost about $1.5 million to hold the Republican Primary in 2012. State lawmakers have allocated $680,000 to help the Republican Party cover that cost, even though Governor Nikki Haley urged them not to: State money should be spent on core government functions, she says. If South Carolina can't pull off the Republican primary, the state will miss out on millions of dollars from campaigning presidential hopefuls. "Restaurants, hotels, signs, mail shops, postage, TV buys, all kinds of money," says Wesley Donehue, one of the many political operatives who rely on the presidential primary season for business. "I think if we lose our primary, then South Carolina loses almost all of its influence." If Governor Haley vetoes the money for a primary, the South Carolina Republican Party will have to raise the funds privately. The state attorney general has been asked to weigh-in on whether the party could pay the South Carolina Election Commission to run the primary. Party officials say having the state involved gives the election results more credibility. If the Republican Party can't raise the money for a primary election, it may have to find another way to pick a nominee - such as through a nominating convention. Haley has also threatened to veto $56 million in unexpected revenue that state legislators have earmarked for K-12 education. The governor wants the money to pay off debt or go back to citizens through tax cuts.