I've been watching the TV ads start to pick up but I think Ballentine was slowed by the Republican runoff against *yawn* Richard Vinroot...he's behind the ball and it's all uphill against Easley. I'll concede that it will be a close election, but I find it hard to believe that Ballentine has enough to pull it out...
Actually, there was no runoff against Vinroot, Vinroot dropped out to allow Ballantine to save money to focus on Easley.
The reason for the delay, in my opinion, was to save money and decide on teh focus of the campaign. Smart move to make sure you know what direction you are going to go before starting.
