Top of the ballot: Help wanted at the White House

Bauer’s camp sent out a release Wednesday that said one of its consultants, Larry Marchant, was fired for “inappropriate conduct not in keeping with the goals of this campaign.”

Marchant later told reporters the termination was for “a one-night sexual encounter that he had with Haley during a June 2008 school-choice convention in Salt Lake City.”

“I disclosed to Andre Bauer several days ago that I had a one-time indiscretion with Nikki Haley,” Marchant said. “I told him that I didn’t want to do anything to discredit his campaign and that I would resign. He thought that that was in the campaign’s best interest. He appreciated my straightforwardness.”

Haley’s campaign denied this second claim of infidelity.

“Y’all were fishing the story [Tuesday] night, and you didn’t fire him [Tuesday],” Haley said to Bauer during a debate Wednesday. “It was only when no one was taking the story seriously, because he was a paid consultant, that you decided to fire him.”

The primary is June 8.

Messrs. Smith go to Washington

There are more congressional candidates running this cycle than at any point in the last 35 years, according to the Associated Press. More than 2,300 people are running for 471 House and Senate seats in the midterms, according to numbers provided to the AP by the Federal Election Commission. And that figure could climb — the registration period is still open in some states.