Nikki Haley Affair Accusations Resurface: Blogger Details Alleged Tryst With South Carolina Candidate

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The political blogger who claims he had a physical relationship with married Republican South Carolina gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley offered new details in a sworn statement released Tuesday.

In an affidavit to a group of Republican activists critical of Haley, Will Folks states he had "romantic encounters" with the state representative in her Cadillac SUV, his apartment and her Statehouse office. He said the physical relationship ended in June 2007, when he began dating the woman who is now his wife.

"Rep. Haley specifically requested that I notify her in the event this relationship was getting serious so that she could 'back off,'" the statement reads.

Haley's campaign again denied all of Folks' claims, which were made without any proof.

"There is something about the days just before an election that make certain people want to get back in the newspapers," said Haley campaign manager Tim Pearson. "These accusations weren't true in June, they aren't true now, and those who continue to be fixated on this nonsense really should look into getting some professional help."

Folks, 36, provided the three-page affidavit to the two-week-old group calling itself Conservatives for Truth in Politics, which is questioning Haley on various issues. It was sworn before a South Carolina notary public and signed by both but is not filed in any court.

The conservative group is clearly critical of Haley but says it will not endorse either her or her opponent, Democratic state Sen. Vincent Sheheen. Lobbyist Larry Marchant, who came forward to say he had a one-night stand with Haley in 2007, told The Associated Press he, too, will provide an affidavit to the group.

"I have determined that your request for the production of a 'signed and sworn affidavit' attesting to the veracity of my previous public comments is reasonable," Folks wrote in an e-mail to the group's co-founder Cyndi Mosteller, former vice chairwoman of the state Republican Party and former Charleston County GOP chairwoman.

Haley, a 38-year-old married mother of two, has repeatedly vowed she has been faithful over 13 years of marriage. Folks' allegations, first made on his website in May, appeared to only bolster her tea party-backed campaign against what she's characterized as an establishment political system.