Candidate in S.C. seriously injured

Crash puts GOP’s Arrington in hospital

Katie Arrington, a South Carolina lawmaker who this month defeated Rep. Mark Sanford in a House Republican primary, was seriously injured in a car crash Friday night, according to her spokesman.

Arrington and a friend were traveling to Hilton Head, where Arrington was to receive an award from a state medical organization Saturday morning, spokesman Michael Mule said on the lawmaker's social media accounts.

"Katie sustained a fracture in her back and several broken ribs, as well as injuries that required Katie to undergo major surgery including the removal of a portion of her small intestine and a portion of her colon," a Facebook post said. "Additionally, the main artery in her legs has a partial collapse and will require a stent."

Arrington was "awake and alert," Mule said by phone Saturday. She was expected to have two more operations over the next couple of days, he said, adding, "She's as tough as they come."

Mike Biundo, one of Arrington's consultants, said Saturday morning that "it was a rough night."

He said he did not know how long her recovery might take. "As you can imagine, this is still an ongoing and fluid situation," he said.

The Charleston County sheriff's office said a two-car collision happened around 9 p.m. on U.S. 17 near Charleston.

Arrington and her friend Jacqueline Goff, 59, were traveling south when another driver traveling in the wrong direction hit their vehicle, Capt. Roger Antonio, a spokesman for the office, said in a statement. The driver of the other vehicle died, he said.

Arrington, 47, won an upset against Sanford in his Charleston-area district after she ran a campaign that took aim at his criticism of President Donald Trump.

"We are the party of President Donald J. Trump," she told supporters after the returns made her victory clear on primary night and just hours after Trump endorsed her campaign with a tweet belittling Sanford.

On Saturday, Trump tweeted that his "thoughts and prayers" were with Arrington and those involved in the crash.

Arrington, who was serving her first term in the state Legislature, harnessed grass-roots anger toward Sanford over his attacks on Trump and lingering unease over his well-publicized marital infidelity.

The Democratic opponent she will face in the general election, Joe Cunningham, a lawyer, has assailed Arrington for her unswerving fealty to Trump.

After news of the crash, Cunningham said on Twitter on Saturday that he was suspending all campaign activities until further notice.

"Just hearing about the terrible accident that occurred overnight involving Katie Arrington," he wrote. "Amanda and I are lifting her and her family up in prayer right now. Please join us."

Rob Godfrey, a onetime aide to Nikki Haley, the former Republican governor of South Carolina, said news of the crash was "certainly something that gives everybody pause."

Neither Arrington nor her challenger, Cunningham, was very well known, Godfrey said, but both "had demonstrated an ability to fire up their base of supporters, raise a significant amount of money and generate excitement nationally."

Combine that with a national backdrop that is favorable for Democrats, he said, and the race has become "one of the ones to watch."

"I think once Rep. Arrington has had a chance to focus on the things that are important, and had a chance to recover, people will start to think about the political side of it again," he said.

While it was too early to say whether Arrington would stay in the race, experts said that even if Republicans had to scramble to find a new nominee, it was unlikely that the open seat would go to a Democrat. South Carolina's 1st Congressional District typically favors Republicans.

Robert Oldendick, a professor of political science at the University of South Carolina, said Arrington had "a natural advantage" in the district. "So if she's able to come out of this and resume campaigning, I think she's pretty much a favorite," he said.

If she decides not to or is unable to continue her campaign, that might give Cunningham "a little better" of a chance, he said.

"There is a speculation out there about the blue wave coming this November," he said. "I don't see any of that in South Carolina."

A Section on 06/24/2018

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