Saturday, May 4, 2013
Harrison is first African-American elected to lead SCDP; Connelly re-elected by SCGOP.
The major political parties in South Carolina held their biannual conventions in Columbia on Saturday. The most significant outcome was the election of Jaime Harrison as the Chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party. Harrison becomes the first African-American to lead a party in the state. Despite the fact that it holds all but one of the seats in the Congressional delegation and all of the constitutional offices, the Republicans gathering was decidedly more contentious. In the weeks leading up to the convention, a rift developed within the party against Chad Connelly, who was running again for state chair. The opposition to Connelly was centered in the Upstate and among some liberty activists. Critics of Connelly pointed to the …
Monday, March 18, 2013
Palmetto State had a prominent seat at the table.
After every presidential year, the losing party retreats into conference to plot a path towards winning the races it just lost. 2012 was no different. What was different was the way in which Democrats defeated Republicans at the polls. Despite high unemployment and economic sluggishness, Barack Obama was easily re-elected, winning by five million votes over Mitt Romney. At the start of 2012, the GOP thought it could win a majority in the Senate. It ended up losing seats. In the House, the Republicans kept the majority, but a few of the most extreme members, such as Allen West of Florida and Joe Walsh of Illinois were bounced from office. The closer the numbers were looked at, the worse the picture became. Republicans have a serious problem…
Friday, October 19, 2012
S.C. Democratic Party 'Commit to Vote' flier originally listed two forms of identification only accepted for registering to vote.
A flier circulated by the S.C. Democratic Party in Dorchester County asks voters to "Commit to Vote." But it also originally offered incorrect information on voter identification. The SCDP sent Patch the following clarification: "A few dozen voters in Dorchester County received Commit to Vote cards with information that stated you could use a cell phone, utility bill or student ID to vote. Those forms of ID can only be used by those who registered by mail and didn't include a copy of their identification. Everyone who received these cards has or will be notified of the error. The South Carolina Democratic Party hopes everyone will go to the polls on November 6 and it's important to know the Voter ID law hasn't been enacted for this …
Friday, October 12, 2012
Artur Davis, who just four years ago spoke at Democratic National Convention in support of Barack Obama, railed against the president Thursday at a SCGOP event in Greer.
Artur Davis, the co-chair for Barack Obama's campaign in 2008, jabbed at the president Thursday night at a private SCGOP event at Thornblade Country Club in Greer. Davis, a former Alabama Democrat who now resides in Virginia, became a Republican after differing on major issues like health care reform while in U.S. Congress. Now, he's one of Obama's biggest opponents. He spoke to a small group of Republicans on Thursday that included SCGOP Chad Connelly, Sen. Mike Fair and Sen. Lee Bright about the importance of electing Mitt Romney, while highlighting ways he believes the president has failed both the state and the nation. One such example was the Obama administration's support of the National Labor Relations Board's aggressive stance …
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Former presidential candidate Rick Santorum thanks the state, flames Obama, and tepidly touts Romney in brief address at SCGOP fundraiser.
SPARTANBURG — With the presidential election heating up and the Republican National Convention just around the corner, former GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum stopped in Spartanburg on Monday night to rally the troops. The event was a SCGOP fundraiser, an event hatched by Santorum himself, who wanted to thank Upstate Republicans for their support during his campaign. Santorum spent more time in the state than any other GOP candidate during the primaries, spending a great deal of that time in the Upstate. Santorum, whose ties to the state are strengthened further by a brother who lives in Hilton Head, and a son who just entered The Citadel, took the occasion to reiterate his gratitude to the state — but also to take aim at President…
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Chairman Chad Connelly given authority to intervene in ballot issues.
The South Carolina Republican party is “unified” according to Executive Director Matt Moore after a session between the party’s executive committee and chairman Chad Connelly on Tuesday night in Columbia. The meeting was called after the executive committee expressed concerns about Connelly’s intervention in the race for the District 3 house seat in Pickens County. As a result of the meeting, the executive committee will now support Connelly’s decision. In the District 3 race, incumbent B.R. Skelton was narrowly defeated by Ed Harris in the primary on June 12. After his loss, Skelton filed an appeal with the executive committee, accusing Harris of filing improperly and therefore being ineligible. But the executive committee rejected …
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Tommie Reece, a candidate for Senate District 6, and Wyatt Miler, a candidate for Senate District 5, were dropped for improperly filing their paperwork.
Two Upstate Republican Senate candidates have been removed from Tuesday's ballot. Tommie Reece, a candidate for Senate District 6, and Wyatt Miler, a candidate for Senate District 5, were dropped for improperly filing their paperwork. Greenville County Elections Director Conway Belangia said a letter to the Greenville County Election Commission from Greenville County Republican Party Chair Betty Poe was dropped off at about 4:25 Thursday afternoon. "The letter stated that those two candidates did not simultaneously file a copy of their statement of economic interest with their statement of intention of candidacy," Belangia said. Reece told Patch that she received a call informing her of the decision just before 5 p.m. Thursday, around the …
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
A second S.C. Supreme Court ruling has kicked more candidates off ballots across the state
The South Carolina Supreme Court threw more candidates off of ballots across the state Tuesday when it ruled the Florence County Republican Party had not complied with its earlier ruling removing nearly 200 candidates from ballots. And now party leaders and election officials across the state are scrambling to understand the impact. In Charleston County, Democrat Carol Tempel was initially certified by the county party following the initial court ruling, but following Tuesday's decision, Tempel announced she was droping out of the race for S.C. House District 115. "The Supreme Court could not have been more clear in their ruling yesterday. If candidates did not file properly, they should not be on the ballot. I accept full responsibility …
Monday, May 21, 2012
With Rubio making headlines in S.C., former governor raises subject of diversity on the ticket.
Former S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford appears anxious for something different on the GOP presidential ticket in 2012. Speculation is growing about the names on Mitt Romney's vice presidential shortlist, including Republican Sen. Rob Portman in make-or-break Ohio. Asked about Portman on Fox News on Monday morning, Sanford had a frank analysis. "The question is: Do you have another white-bread sandwich and, you know, is it just going to be boring to voters out there? I think that that's the question with Portman," Sanford said. GOP12.com at The Hill has the video. The comment comes two days after Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) made headlines during a visit to South Carolina. The son of Cuban immigrants, Rubio has been lauded as a possible vice-…
One of the favorites to be the Republican vice presidential candidate spoke Saturday in Columbia.
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), one of the favorites to be former Gov. Mitt Romney's VP choice in the upcoming presidential election, was in Columbia over the weekend to speak at the Silver Elephant fundraiser. Introduced by Sens. Lindsey Graham and Jim DeMint, as well as others, watch the video to see what Rubio had to say. Rubio takes the stage at the 16-minute mark, if you want to skip all of the introductions.
Shawn Drury
11:43 pm on Saturday, May 4, 2013
Rusty, You are correct. I used the wrong principal. (subsequently corrected). SD more ›