- The Washington Times - Sunday, May 5, 2013

A spokesman for South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley fired back Friday after it was reported the state’s Democratic Party chairman made a snide comment regarding her heritage.

Dick Harpootlian, a longtime Democratic leader, reportedly told a group of Democrats at a dinner that the Democratic challenger would send “Nikki Haley back to wherever the hell she came from,” Yahoo News’ Chris Moody tweeted Friday night.

Mrs. Haley was born in South Carolina to two Indian parents.

“Unfortunately, this seems to be a trend coming from the South Carolina Democratic Party,” Haley spokesman Rob Godfrey told BuzzFeed. “Fortunately, the people of South Carolina are better than Harpootlian and his ilk, and we have faith that they will see right through their consistent attempts to play to the lowest common denominator.”

There were no details on the venue or context for the comment, but The Daily Mail speculated that Mr. Harpootlian was at the 2013 Dem Weekend in Columbia, S.C. The party kicked off on Friday at the Metropolitan Columbia Convention Center and ended Saturday.

• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.

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