2 years ago Lexington County GOP split. The controlling faction just split again
Two years ago, a bloc of Trump-backing conservatives took control of the Lexington County Republican Party ousting establishment GOP members. Several months later that bloc split into two factions over how the party is run, ultimately leading to the ouster of the county party chairwoman.
Now, the faction that was recognized by the state GOP split again — after a disagreement that started last year and culminated publicly Saturday when the Lexington County GOP elected its leadership for the next two years.
Mark Weber was reelected as party chairman in a 149-to-84 vote after receiving a challenge from John Allen, who was third vice chairman of the party.
In fact, Weber’s entire slate of candidates for county party leadership won their elections on Saturday.
Weber said he wanted to keep the team together, with Allen moving up to executive committee member up from 3rd vice chair. But Allen ran for chairman after he said he wasn’t given information about how the county party ran ticket sales for its large fundraiser.
“When I tried to speak out against my concern about it, it was shut down. There was a lot of angst,” Allen said.
It’s just the latest public drama around the party’s leadership in recent years.
Weber was elevated when Pamela Godwin was ousted in 2023 from the role, even though she continues to hold her own Republican Party meetings.
But after the Saturday election, which gave Weber a full two-year term at the helm, tension remains between him and Allen.
“He’s got a lot of time left to mature and to grow. He needs to continue to be part of organizations,” Weber said in an interview about Allen.
“I feel bad for him, I’ve tried to help him. I’ve tried to have one-on-one conversations with him. I think when you live in an echo chamber, sometimes you make bad decisions,” Weber said.
After Allen’s defeat, he tried to cast doubt on Facebook over the fairness of the leadership election.
“Unfortunately, the cards were massively stacked against us due to the gross slander, rule violations, weeks of secret delegate harvesting, and the refusal to give precinct and delegate member info to other candidates to allow for a fair election,” Allen posted. “While today was disappointing for many, I know we are exposing a much greater problem within this political system and state.”
The Allens, who own the restaurant Mamma Rabbit’s Nibbles and Sips, have sought to grow their political influence which includes a monthly gathering called Freedom Friday at their restaurant.
John Allen’s brother Will Allen is a town councilmember in Lexington. Their sister Sarah Grace Allen ran to represent the Lexington GOP on the state GOP executive committee.
Now the Allens only elected role with the county party is John Allen and Sarah Grace Allen being delegates at the statewide convention next month.
But John Allen plans to stay active in politics and said he believes more people are aligning themselves with conservative stances.
“I’m definitely going to stay involved with the conservative movement,” John Allen said.
The split between the Weber and the Allens occurred over how a county party fundraiser was handled and whether decisions on how to increase ticket sales were being kept from other members in the leadership.
Weber, in an interview, defended how he handled ticket sales for the party’s annual fundraisers last fall. He said ticket sales had been struggling and he had to make an executive decision in order to cover costs.
“As third vice chair, he doesn’t know all the things that the chairman does and has to do on a daily basis. And decisions are made just like in a corporate setting. The corporate leaders make those decisions, and they’re not going to get their whole group of folks together to ask them every question,” Weber said.
Weber said he wants to focus on growing the Lexington County party, and even though he agrees with some stances of hard-line conservatives, it might mean needing to put aside some of his own beliefs.
“So I’m hoping the Allens won’t feel too hurt about this, but the statements that they’ve made in the media and really on social media, are just deplorable,” Weber said.
