Bob Conley

For the baseball player, see Bob Conley (baseball).
Bob Conley
Democratic nominee for
U.S. Senator for South Carolina
Opponent(s) Lindsey Graham
Incumbent Lindsey Graham
Personal details
Born

September 1965 (age 51)

Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Single
Residence North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Alma mater Trine University
Profession commercial pilot, flight instructor, licensed professional engineer
Religion Traditional Catholic

Robert M. "Bob" Conley (born September 6, 1965) is an American pilot, engineer, and politician. He was the 2008 Democratic nominee for U.S. Senator from South Carolina; he ran against and lost to Republican incumbent Lindsey Graham.

Conley defeated lawyer Michael Cone in the primary election on June 16, following a recount, by a margin of 1,058 votes.[1] He is considered to be a conservative Democrat[2] and even supported libertarian Republican Congressman Ron Paul in his presidential campaign.[3] Conley is a resident of North Myrtle Beach, where he served as a member of the Horry County Republican Committee prior to seeking the Democratic nomination. His candidacy was endorsed by many conservative South Carolinians,[4] as well as by Constitution Party presidential nominee Chuck Baldwin.[5]

Positions

"Conley stands for ending illegal immigration, protecting American workers, bringing our troops home from Iraq, increasing veterans' benefits, reducing our dependence on foreign oil, ending Wall Street bailouts, repealing the Patriot Act, cutting spending, and fidelity to the Constitution."[2] He is opposed to same-sex marriage.[6]

Criticism

Michael Cone, Conley's primary opponent, criticized Conley as too conservative, saying that "We've nominated a Republican in a Democratic primary."[4] Conley was a Republican but left the party due to frustration over immigration, trade, and the Iraq War. Numerous commentators, including Lew Rockwell[7] of the Ludwig von Mises Institute, and Jack Hunter[4] and Daniel McCarthy[8] in The American Conservative, have compared him to Republican Congressman Ron Paul. Indeed, Conley voted for Paul in South Carolina's presidential primary.[2]

2008 South Carolina Senate campaign

After Bob Conley beat Cone in the primary he went on to compete against incumbent Republican senator Lindsey Graham. Conley's campaign followed his mantra of fiscal conservatism spending only $15,202 for 42.25% of the vote on November 5 to Graham's $6,596,229 for 57.53%.[9]

References

External links

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