| Challenger says she'd quit race over job AIKEN - The Republican challenger to veteran state Sen. Tommy Moore, D-Clearwater, said Wednesday she would quit the race before quitting her job with a nonprofit group that teaches abstinence courses in South Carolina and Georgia public schools. Susan Swanson, the regional director for Heritage Community Services, which relies heavily on direct federal grants and other federal money routed through state agencies, said her work with school-age youth trumps her desire to be a state senator. If the South Carolina Elections Commission or the state Senate Legislative Ethics Committee rule she has a conflict of interest because of her candidacy and her $50,000-a-year post with a nonprofit that performs contract work for two state agencies, she said she'll officially withdraw from the race. "I will not quit Heritage - the work's too important," said Mrs. Swanson, 55, who is also a director of the Augusta Care Pregnancy Center. "I'll quit the race first." An early exit by Mrs. Swanson would mark her third political about-face since she made a last-second decision March 30, the last day candidates for federal and state offices could file in South Carolina, to run against Mr. Moore. Within hours of filing her challenge, Mrs. Swanson called The Augusta Chronicle to say she changed her mind and would withdraw from the race, citing her heavy work load as a reason. However, Mrs. Swanson never formally withdrew. Her candidacy presents two potential problems, said Phillip Land, the research director of the state Senate Legislative Ethics Committee - it could violate prohibitions against an employee or board member of a tax-exempt organization participating in politics, or there could be a conflict of interest between her candidacy and her group's status as a contractor for two state agencies. But Mr. Land said Mrs. Swanson has yet to file disclosure forms with his committee and might not have a problem. "Being part of a nonprofit organization receiving state or federal funds don't necessarily prohibit her from running," he said.
Reach Jim Nesbitt at (803) 648-1395 or jim.nesbitt@augustachronicle.com.
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