Robert Rabon, longtime Horry County GOP leader, dies from COVID-19 complications

Robert Rabon, the longtime chairman of the Horry County Republican Party — and a powerful figure in South Carolina who worked to get politicians elected at all levels of government — passed away Friday morning. He was 70 years old.

Rabon died due to complications from COVID-19, for which he was hospitalized in recent days, according to his daughter. Rabon also suffered from a kidney disease in his later years, his daughter said.

Born on Sept. 4, 1950 in Aynor, Rabon served as the chairman of the Horry County GOP from 2005 to 2011, and again from 2013 to 2017. He was also a successful businessman — owning and operating Rabon’s Housing Center for four decades — and served on a number of local boards and commissions. He also served as one of the original members of Horry County Council in the 1970s and 1980s.

To those who knew him, Rabon was a giant in local politics and the best fundraiser around. He was also a family man, constantly talking up his children and grandchildren.

“He loved his country and I never knew any man who loved his family as much as Robert,” said Gerri McDaniel, a longtime friend of Rabon and a South Carolina GOP operative. “There’s a void here in politics now. He was the type of person who you wished you had a third of the knowledge he did.”

Rabon was raised on a farm in Aynor with seven sisters and a brother, and was the son of sharecroppers. He grew up poor, Horry County Councilman Al Allen said, and went on to be a successful businessman. Amanda Rabon, one of his daughters, said his upbringing made him want to work hard in life.

“He made it up in his mind when he was a teenager that he wasn’t going to farm anymore,” she said. “He went to college and started his business.”

After attending Coastal Carolina University in the 1970s, Rabon got licensed as an insurance broker and a real estate broker before opening Rabon’s Housing Center in 1979. He was elected to Horry County Council that same year.

Rabon was active in his church, Allen and Amanda Rabon said, serving as a deacon and Sunday school teacher at the White Savannah Free Will Baptist Church. Amanda Rabon said he was active in organizing gift drives for families in need at Christmastime and wrote a play for the church’s Easter services. She said a lot of people “came to know Jesus” because of her dad.

Growing up, Amanda Rabon said her father was a loving dad, and because he was so well connected they could never misbehave.

“He was one of those daddies where he knew so many people that we couldn’t get in trouble (because) he’ll find out about it before I get home,” she remembered. “He just kind of looked at you, he didn’t have to spank you or be a disciplinarian, he would just give you a look.”

Rabon also served in a number of community and public service roles, including the Aynor Lion’s Club and Conway Rotary Club, as well as the Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corporation and the Horry County Higher Education Commission. Rabon also served as a trustee at Coastal Carolina University and on the board of the Grand Strand Water and Sewer Authority.

In politics, Rabon knew everyone and “never saw a stranger,” McDaniel said. He was warm and kind to everyone, and always active.

“He’s such a warm-hearted person,” McDaniel said. “I never knew anyone who didn’t like him.”

Jerry Rovner, chairman of the Republican Party for the 7th congressional district in South Carolina, said Rabon was a reliable force to get GOP victories both in Horry County and statewide. Politicians from Sen. Lindsey Graham to Rep. Tom Rice to county council members and school board members relied on him.

“He leaves big shoes to fill. Not everybody was on the same page, and he brought people together. He was a good mediator and a good organizer,” Rover said. “He was one of the strong people in Horry County so if he put his weight behind someone he could turn the vote out.”

In 2016, Rabon used his power and influence to help deliver South Carolina for President Donald Trump, along with a slate of new GOP politicians locally.

On Friday, remembrances poured in from prominent South Carolina political figures.

“Robert was a can-do, optimistic leader who was invaluable to growing the Republican Party in Horry County,” Graham said in a tweet on Friday. “He did a great job working with the South Carolina Victory operation this past election cycle. I’ll always be grateful for what he has done for me and the cause. He was a good man who will be missed by his family and friends. RIP Robert.”

Hope Walker, executive director of the South Carolina Republican Party, added that Rabon “was a wonderful man who loved his country and party. He will be missed.”

McDaniel said that she and Rabon could also be competitive in politics, even though they worked for the same team.

In 2010, when former S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley first ran for office, McDaniel favored Haley, while Rabon favored former Rep. Gresham Barrett. McDaniel warned Rabon about backing anyone other than Haley, and the two put a $100 bet on the race. McDaniel promised to work as hard as she had to to ensure a Haley victory.

“I’ll work 19 hours a day,” she recalled telling Rabon.

When Haley won, McDaniel said Rabon learned a lesson.

“I’m not going to go up against you anymore,” she recalled him saying with a chuckle.

Dreama Purdue, the current chair of the Horry County GOP, said when Republican candidates wanted to run in Horry County, they turned to Rabon.

“It was to the point where a lot of candidates, when they wanted to run, they would go to Robert and get his advice,” Purdue said. “He could help someone run for the first time.”

And when incumbents wanted to win re-election, they turned to him too.

“He was known as a fantastic fundraiser,” she said. “He could raise a couple thousand or he could raise more depending on what was needed.”

Purdue said that when she moved to Horry County from West Virginia she learned everything she needed to know about South Carolina and local politics from Rabon.

“I learned an awful lot just by sitting and listening to him,” she said. “He was like a mentor to me.”

But whatever political project Rabon was involved in, his daughter said, he maintained a clear motivation: his family.

“He said I’m doing this for my grandbabies and their future,” Amanda Rabon remembered her father telling her one time. “The world lost a good man today and a legend in our book.”

Rabon leaves behind four children — Seth Rabon, Amanda Rabon, Sherrie Brown and Robin Niederwerfer — and nine grandchildren.

In 2017, the South Carolina legislature honored Rabon with a resolution recognizing his years of service. In 2019, Coastal Carolina University honored Rabon with an honorary doctorate degree in public service.

More than anything, though, McDaniel said she’ll miss her friend.

“It’s like a suction has pulled part of my heart,” she said. “He was a genuine person, he’s going to be missed.”

This story was originally published November 13, 2020 at 6:01 PM with the headline "Robert Rabon, longtime Horry County GOP leader, dies from COVID-19 complications."