Myrtle Beach-area business leaders pour cash into two local State House races
Horry County in 2022 has two wide-open seats for the South Carolina Statehouse, and Myrtle Beach-area business leaders are pouring in the cash to elect their preferred candidates.
One of those House seats, District 106 in Surfside Beach, is open because incumbent Rep. Russell Fry is stepping aside to run for Congress.
The other, District 61, is a newly-drawn seat due to Horry County’s population growth and includes parts of Carolina Forest and Conway.
Campaign finance reports released this week show that local business leaders and other Grand Strand politicos have chosen their preferred candidates in each of those races: Thomas “Val” Guest in District 106 and Carla Schuessler in District 61.
Schuessler works as the CFO for the law firm Complete Legal Defense Team and previously led the Horry County branch of Habitat for Humanity. She raised a total of $42,399 from 119 donors, or an average donation of $356. That’s $40,000 more than her next-closest competitor, John Cassidy, raised.
Guest is an attorney at the firm Ouverson, Guest & Carter. He raised $33,460 from 59 donors, for an average of $567 per donor. That’s $27,000 more than his closest competitor, Brian Sweeney.
The finance reports show that both candidates amassed those totals because area business leaders, including those serving on the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors, have turned out to donate.
Both candidates also have direct ties to the chamber, which is frequently a political heavyweight in local Horry County races via its affiliated political action committees and other groups.
Schuessler is an ex-officio member of the chamber’s board of directors, and Guest participated in the chamber’s Leadership Grand Strand program nearly two decades ago, which he notes on his campaign website.
Schuessler received donations from 11 of the 24 members on the chamber’s board of directors, including Alex Husner, the board chair.
Karen Riordan, the chamber’s CEO, wrote in an email that the chamber doesn’t directly control any PACs, and the chamber does not have any preferred candidates.
“We are not involved in any way with these races, not from a monetary standpoint or any other efforts,” she wrote.
Who’s donating?
Schuessler’s finance report further lists donations from business owners, vice presidents of local companies, bankers, attorneys, hotel owners and realtors.
Notable donations include $1,000 each from: the hotel companies H.M. Inn Properties and Seaside Properties; Walter Glenn, head of the staffing agency A Services Group; and the developer A. O. Hardee & Son.
Other notable donors include Myrtle Beach Mayor Brenda Bethune, who gave to Schuessler’s campaign three times, totaling $3,000, via herself and two companies she owns.
Schuessler didn’t return multiple phone messages seeking comment for this story.
Guest’s donor list is similar, boasting contributions from attorneys, developers and bankers.
Notable donations include $1,000 each from Coastal Carolina National Bank President Lawrence Bolchoz and Mike Riley, the president of the Better Brands beer distributor. Bethune is the owner of Better Brands.
Also included on the list is the Volpe family, which donated $4,000 — $1,000 from each of four family members, who work as physical therapists, doctors and engineers.
The DuRant’s — a family of three attorneys — gave $2,500 total. David DuRant, the head of the firm N. David DuRant & Associates, also serves as the town attorney for Pawley’s Island. Woody DuRant is a member of the South Strand Chamber of Commerce.
Guest also didn’t return multiple phone messages seeking comment for this story.
Steve Chapman, the chairman of the Grand Strand Business Alliance, which oversees several PACs, said his organization doesn’t typically get involved in races for open seats, and that members of the Alliance will vet and donate to candidates individually.
One of the things his organization looks for in candidates, Chapman said, is a recognition “of the importance of the Grand Strand” and its tourism-based economy.
He said the organization also believes candidates should fight for additional tax dollars for Horry County in Columbia.
“We’re at a disadvantage in Columbia, the Grand Strand is,” he said. “We have a lot fewer votes than we get dollars back. We go out, and we support candidates who we think support policies that help our area and help offset our lack of representation.”
Platform for Columbia
Both Guest and Schuessler are campaigning to improve infrastructure in Horry County and have South Carolina send more tax money back to Horry County for such projects.
Horry County is frequently referred to as a “donor county,” meaning it sends more tax money to Columbia than it gets back.
“From tourism, to industry, and so much more, Horry County sends billions in tax revenues to Columbia only for it to be directed all across the state,” Schuessler wrote on her campaign website. “Our portion never seems to find its way back to us.”
Schuessler is also campaigning to cut taxes on military veterans and change education spending. She said she wants to “cut wasteful spending and ensure that money makes its way to the classroom.”
Guest, on his campaign website, noted that he would prioritize bringing additional funding for public safety back to Horry County and would use the levers of state government to recruit new industries to locate here. He also said he would work to boost the tourism industry.
“We have beautiful beaches and natural areas that we want to maintain, and we should continue to support our tourism industry,” he wrote. “At the same time, we need to recruit appropriate industry to our area so we can redevelop empty strip malls and other abandoned business sites and offer more sources for steady work opportunities.”
This story was originally published April 15, 2022 at 11:06 AM with the headline "Myrtle Beach-area business leaders pour cash into two local State House races."
