Horry County GOP was going to elect leaders but the meeting was profanity-laced instead

Monday was supposed to be an evening of unity and healing for the Horry County GOP but instead devolved into shouting and continued uncertainty about its leadership.

A special election was called Monday for the Republican party to pick replacements for the five-person leadership team that announced its resignations two weeks ago. They cited months of political infighting and a growing rift with the state Republican apparatus.

All went according to plan until the meeting started.

For the next hour, members of the GOP’s executive committee shouted over one another in sometimes profanity-laced tirades.

At one point, a woman was escorted out for repeatedly shouting over Chairman Roger Slagle. And one representative — right-wing radio personality Chad Caton — almost came to blows with a man who peppered insults at Caton’s wife, Elizabeth.

Slagle, who on Sept. 12 said he was resigning at month’s end, changed his mind to a chorus of boos and cheers.

“We received an incredible amount of feedback from members of this party, (executive committes) of this party, grassroots and Republican patriots across this state,” Slagle said. “After careful deliberation and this outpouring of overwhelming feedback from constituents, I’ve decided to rescind my resignation.”

Then arguments broke out over whether Slagle’s move was permitted, with some insisting state party leaders have already accepted the resignations, though proof of that wasn’t made immediately available.

At one point, an executive committee member even offered to dial up state GOP chairman Drew McKissick for clarity.

But outgoing Horry County GOP secretary Barbara Treacy said near the end of the meeting, “I don’t want to hear that man’s voice for anything.”

In between moments of paraphrasing President Abraham Lincoln’s famous 1858 “A House Divided Speech” and long passages read verbatim from a parliamentary procedure manuals, Slagle attempted multiple times to get an agenda approved so voting on leadership slots could commence.

Nominations for chairman, vice chairman, treasurer and secretary were postponed after committee members agreed to adjourn until Sept. 30.

One member said there was enough support at Monday night’s meeting to fill leadership posts.

“We had enough people to elect new people tonight. And then because he (Slagle) didn’t like the people that were running for chair” he pulled his resignation back, said Judy Henion. “As of Sept. 30, he’s out of a job.”

Stuart Behar, wearing a “We the People are Pissed Off” T-shirt, echoed Lincoln’s speech in calling for an end to the party bickering, saying it would hinder GOP candidates’ efforts to win in the election.

“Why are we fighting?” he asked. “It’s stupid.”

This story was originally published September 26, 2022 at 7:41 PM with the headline "Horry County GOP was going to elect leaders but the meeting was profanity-laced instead."