Democrat Setzler says he has GOP group’s support

A group of Midlands Republicans has formed to support Democrat Nikki Setzler’s re-election bid, the S.C. Senate minority leader said Tuesday.

But two GOP officials say they are not familiar with the Republicans listed in the longtime Lexington state senator’s press release.

Setzler said “Republicans for Setzler,” a group of educators, elected officials and community activists, will be active in his campaign.

The group has sent District 26 voters a letter urging them to support Setzler over his Republican opponent, West Columbia risk-management consultant Brad Lindsey.

But Lexington County GOP chair Craig Caldwell says party records show none of the group’s listed members have been active in the county GOP chapter over the past 12 years.

S.C. GOP chair Matt Moore said he is not familiar with any of the members listed.

“This is a standard tactic from the Setzler campaign,” Moore said. “It is used every election cycle and meant to cover the fact that he consistently fails to represent the beliefs of his district.”

Setzler said the group has formed for each of his past four of five re-election campaigns.

“It shows that I work in a bipartisan way and have done so over the years,” he said.

The group includes Leo Redmond, Lynn Summer, John Bettis, Elizabeth Hook, Frank Shumpert, Katherine Plowden Burgess, Maida Sue and Ted Neeley, Melanie and Shane Thornton, Mark Burt, Toni Greer, Mike Miller, Molly Horton, Mary Sharpe and Joe Vasquez, according to a news release.

This story was originally published September 27, 2016 at 12:17 PM with the headline "Democrat Setzler says he has GOP group’s support."