Anti-Colbert Busch push polls reported in South Carolina

“What would you think of Elizabeth Colbert Busch if I told you she had had an abortion?” one call reportedly asked

Published May 1, 2013 4:05PM (EDT)

Elizabeth Colbert Busch       (AP/Bruce Smith)
Elizabeth Colbert Busch (AP/Bruce Smith)

South Carolina's special election just got a little bit dirtier, with a conservative group reportedly using push polls -- phone calls disguised as polls, but aimed at influencing voters -- to dissuade voters from supporting Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch.

According to ThinkProgress, multiple individuals in the state have reported receiving phone calls from the shady conservative group “SSI Polling," which claims to be polling on the race between Colbert Busch and Mark Sanford, but does not mention Sanford at all in the calls.

According to ThinkProgress, some of the questions were:

- “What would you think of Elizabeth Colbert Busch if I told you she had had an abortion?”

- “What would you think of Elizabeth Colbert Busch if I told you a judge held her in contempt of court at her divorce proceedings?

- “What would you think of Elizabeth Colbert Busch if she had done jail time?”

- “What would you think of Elizabeth Colbert Busch if I told you she was caught running up a charge account bill?”

“If there’s push polling going on it isn’t coming from us,” a Sanford spokesman told FITS News.


By Jillian Rayfield

Jillian Rayfield is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on politics. Follow her on Twitter at @jillrayfield or email her at jrayfield@salon.com.

MORE FROM Jillian Rayfield


Related Topics ------------------------------------------

2013 Elections Abortion Elizabeth Colbert-busch Mark Sanford Push Polling South Carolina