In major shift, Horry GOP considering rule change to allow primary endorsements
Members of the Horry County Republican Party are considering changing party rules to allow the local GOP to vet and endorse candidates in primary elections, according to sources and documents reviewed by The Sun News.
Such a change would mark a departure from the party’s current rules, which say that the party and its members should remain neutral until after primary elections have passed. Party members who support that policy said it keeps Republican primary contests fair for all candidates involved.
But the Horry County GOP’s bylaws committee began drafting new rules this month that would allow “elected and appointed” members of the local party to “vet, support and promote” candidates in primary elections.
Some suspect the change has to do with former President Trump’s recent endorsement of state Rep. Russell Fry for Congress.
“The elected and appointed members of the Horry County Republican Party shall be permitted to vet, support and promote qualified Republican candidates in Republican Party primaries and run offs, as they deem appropriate,” one version of the proposed rule change reads.
Another proposed rule change adds that party members can’t mention their affiliation with the GOP if they want to vet and endorse candidates.
“The elected and appointed members of the Horry County Republican Party shall be permitted to vet, support and promote qualified Republican candidates in Republican Party primaries and run offs, so long as there is no mention or authority referenced to their elected position within the HCGOP,” the proposed change reads.
The local party could vote to adopt the changes at its March 7 meeting. The window for candidates to file for elections opens March 16.
The proposed changes have already upset some local Republicans, who worry that making the change could create a top-heavy system in which average voters have fewer choices in primaries.
Last spring, as the local GOP underwent its biennial reorganization process, some Horry County Republicans worried that if the party’s current leaders won, rule changes like this one would be imminent, and could harm the party. Jerry Rovner, the head of the GOP for South Carolina’s 7th congressional district, was one such person.
“I think it’s a slippery slope,” Rovner said Thursday, echoing his concerns from a year ago. “Our thing is to let the people make their own decisions. If I start making decisions, it reminds me of those old TV shows where guys are smoking cigars in the back room.”
Ensure a voice
Others, though, see the change as a way for the local party to ensure that quality candidates are running for office.
Duane Oliver, a former chairman of the Horry County GOP who served in the early 2000s, said he liked the idea because it helps control the various political views newcomers bring to the Grand Strand. U.S. Census data showed last year that more than 80,000 new residents moved to Horry County between 2010 and 2020.
“Why should the party sit back and let people run for office as a Republican and we don’t anything about them?” Oliver said, noting that he made similar comments to party leaders. “We don’t know if they’re a Republican, we don’t know if they’re conservative. They might have moved here from up North.”
In a statement Thursday, Horry County GOP chairman Roger Slagle declined to comment on internal discussions about amending the party’s bylaws. He said he may speak publicly about the proposed changes in the future.
“Should there be a major initiative which would be sent to the full executive committee with a motion for ratification, then I would be happy to make a public statement as with past precedent,” Slagle said.
Judy Henion, a member of the bylaws committee who helped write the proposed rule changes declined to comment for this story.
Divide the party?
The proposed change comes on the heels of Trump endorsing Fry, of Surfside Beach, in his race against U.S. Rep. Tom Rice, of Myrtle Beach. Some party activists believe Trump made a mistake and that Fry is too politically similar to Rice to be a suitable replacement.
Oliver and others suggested the rule change could allow the Horry County GOP to rally behind a different candidate for Congress. Other significant races are also happening this spring, including those for Horry County council chairman, Fry’s seat in the state legislature and several seats on the school board and county council.
“I think what just happened with Mr. Fry has a lot to do with it,” Oliver said. “That’s someone else making Horry County’s choice.”
Oliver said he wasn’t sure who local Republicans might rally behind for Congress and county-level offices, but that the party should be allowed to have a say. He noted that the policy of neutrality was adopted at some point during the past two decades, meaning that ending the policy wouldn’t be too seismic a shift.
Ron Matta, the head of the South Strand Republican Club, disagrees, especially because of the coming congressional primary.
“Their main goal is to take over the South Carolina Republican Party and put in their candidates; that’s their only goal,” Matta said. “Donald Trump endorsed Russell Fry. I don’t think they would endorse Russell Fry. They would endorse their candidate, and it would have an effect.”
He added: “It just causes division and friction, that’s all it does. That’s my problem. It’ll divide the party.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with a comment from Henion.
This story was originally published February 10, 2022 at 2:39 PM with the headline "In major shift, Horry GOP considering rule change to allow primary endorsements."
