Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A Republican running for South Carolina governor says she's "not backtracking" in her support for lawmakers' efforts to remove the Confederate battle flag from the Statehouse grounds but says she's proud of the Confederacy.
Hours after speaking to a grassroots GOP gathering in the conservative Upstate, Catherine Templeton told The Associated Press on Tuesday night she's "proud of the Confederacy." But Templeton says she still stands by a 2015 document expressing support for then-Gov. Nikki Haley and state lawmakers for removing the flag in the wake of the massacre of nine black worshippers at Charleston's Emanuel AME Church.
Templeton says killer Dylann Roof "took our symbol and turned it into hate" but says she's proud of the state's history and won't apologize for that.
Gov. Henry McMaster is also running in 2018. His campaign declined to comment.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
