Republican gubernatorial hopeful Gresham Barrett said Wednesday that front-runner Nikki Haley was making only limited campaign appearances in advance of Tuesday's runoff before being put "back in her cage" by her handlers.

"We're doing a lot of rallies, and we're out and about talking to lots of voters," Barrett said during a campaign stop at Stooges Cafe in Bluffton. "She's doing one small event a day, and they're putting her back in her cage."

Barrett's staff later said "it was a poor choice of words on an important issue." Campaign manager Luke Byars accused Haley of putting her campaign on lockdown "in an attempt to run out the clock."

Haley's campaign denounced the criticism as hypocritical.

"That kind of rhetoric is, at best, disrespectful, and doesn't fit with the congressman's pledge to run a positive, issue-focused campaign," Haley campaign manager Tim Pearson said.

A campaign schedule from Barrett lists 14 campaign events in the past week.

Haley's camp declined to provide a schedule but criticized Barrett for missed votes in Washington.

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