South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley hasn't officially said she's running for re-election, but her campaign this week reported having $2 million cash on hand. She raised a quarter of that just in the last three months – much of it from out-of-state donors.
Winthrop Political Scientist Scott Huffmon says Haley is leveraging her national profile to position herself for a rematch of the 2010 race in which she narrowly beat Democratic State Senator Vincent Sheheen.
"Sheheen did a lot better - in a very anti-Democratic year nationally - than a lot of people thought he would," says Huffmon. "I think because of that Nikki Haley wants to make darn sure she's got plenty of money for this battle."
Sheheen set up a website to collect donations for another gubernatorial run this week and announced plans to challenge Haley in 2014. His campaign has just $500 on hand, but Sheheen could also seek permission from donors to use some of the $100,000 in his state senate campaign account.
Governor Haley is expected to announce her re-election plans sometime this summer.