COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- South Carolina Republican gubernatorial nominee Nikki Haley is meeting with business leaders in Columbia, a week after calling the state Chamber of Commerce a fan of bailouts and corporate welfare.
More than a dozen business leaders were expected to attend the hour-long meeting Thursday.
Haley spokesman Rob Godfrey says the meeting is unrelated to the state Chamber of Commerce's decision to stick with an earlier endorsement of her opponent, Democrat Vincent Sheheen.
Haley has made government transparency her key issue. A Sheheen spokesman says the closed meeting is an example of Haley's hypocrisy.
But Attorney General Henry McMaster says participants he called suggested the media be barred so they could talk freely. He says most of those at the meeting had backed his race for governor.
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