The biggest threat to this Upstate Republican’s reelection hopes might be his own party

South Carolina Rep. Jonathon Hill — an Upstate Republican with a penchant for bucking authority — has a problem a week before the state’s primary: his own party.

However, despite that problem which could ultimately result in the three-term Republican lawmaker losing his House District 8 seat, the self-employed software engineer is hardly dejected, telling The State on Tuesday he’s confident that his constituents know him best.

In a highly unusual move that surprised even some Republicans, the South Carolina Republican Party and its leaders in the S.C. House are playing favorites in a contest between two of the party’s members by publicly supporting Hill’s GOP primary challenger, Vaughn Parfitt, in the GOP primary next week.

Last month, The Greenville News first reported that voters in the Anderson district received mailers describing Parfitt, an optometrist, as a “hardworking, cooperative conservative,” paid for by the S.C. GOP and including its Columbia address.

In response, the newspaper reported the Anderson County Republican Party passed a resolution condemning the mailers and the S.C. Republican Party for favoring one candidate over another, calling on chairman Drew McKissick to apologize.

And with the blessing of the House GOP Caucus, public relations and marketing firm Starboard Communications has been actively involved in Parfitt’s campaign, giving advice, logistical support and assisting with social media, calls and ads.

Hill has long been a thorn in the side for House Republicans, and, last year, he was suspended from the House GOP Caucus by an overwhelming number of his colleagues, who had grown tired of his “antics” and ongoing criticisms.

Over the past few months, and recently days, Hill has taken those criticisms steps further.

He’s pushed out a Facebook post accusing McKissick of spending party money to promote “corrupt” Columbia politicians, and this week he wrote an op-ed in the political blog FITS News likening House Majority Leader Gary Simrill, R-York, to “The Wizard of Oz’s ... man behind the curtain,” calling the York Republican “slick” and part of State House corruption.

And on Wednesday, Hill filed a complaint in Richland County against the S.C. Republican Party and Vaughn Parfitt, alleging the party violated the state’s ethics laws by spending more than $5,000 in support of Parfitt’s campaign.

A hearing has been scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday at the Richland County Courthouse before Judge Jean Toal.

The S.C. GOP said it does not comment on pending legal matters.

Simrill called the descriptions in Hill’s op-ed “sophomoric,” adding it says more about Hill than him.

“I’ve said this from the floor many times, and I mean it 100%, that every ZIP code is equally important, but what it takes in the House of Representatives in order to represent your constituency, you must be able to work with others,” Simrill told The State. “And unfortunately, Mr. Hill hasn’t shown that ability.”

‘It made me more authentic’

Hill says his caucus suspension hasn’t slowed him down at all.

Last April, Hill’s Republican colleagues voted to suspend his caucus membership after leaders told The State that Hill had gone public with details of private caucus conversations, mischaracterizing colleagues’ statements and caucus policy positions.

The caucus is a dues-paying organization, though the courts last year decided the caucus is not subject to South Carolina’s open-records laws, and leaders take those meetings into private occasionally during session to lay out strategy and build consensus around legislation before lawmakers walk into the House chamber.

Hill contends his issues with House leaders go as far back as 2018, when he forced a House vote on a constitutional carryproposal that would have allowed the carrying of firearms without a permit, and was later blamed when certain incumbent Republican members lost their primaries. His relationship with leaders further deteriorated in March, when on the floor he publicly accused the House GOP Caucus of conspiring in private to vote down every single amendment to the state’s budget proposed by a Democrat.

Leaders said then that was false, and they actually had agreed not to approve any changes to only a piece of the budget.

“I’ve always been an independent figure,” Hill said. “I’m not a bandwagon-type person. I do my own research, always been true from day one. ... I don’t think it hurt me at all by doing that, actually. It just kind of made me more authentic.”

But as a result, Hill struggles to get legislation he sponsors passed by his own colleagues. Though he notes, he’s been able to force at least three public votes on his constitutional carry bill, and each time, he says, the margin grows more narrow.

“Don’t let anybody tell you that I can’t do what needs to be done, simply isn’t true,” Hill said. “Not what the record shows.”

Challenger regrets not running earlier

A graduate of The Citadel, South Carolina’s military college, Parfitt says District 8 is not getting representation.

Parfitt said he voted for Hill the first time he ran for office in 2014, but came to dislike Hill’s “my way or the highway” approach, he told The State recently. Parfitt considered running for the seat two years ago but backed off. He said he regretted that choice.

“This time around, it was something I had to do,” Parfitt said.

Though Parfitt has never held public office, he’s familiar with the Legislature, having dealt with policy as a member of the State Optometric Association and Board of Examiners in Optometry. If elected, Parfitt said he hopes to be involved in public education reforms, water issues, and, as a son of generations of farmers, ensure farmers are taken care of.

“I’m the product of public education,” Parfitt said. “It’s not just the money. (It’s) how we treat teachers. Teachers, they don’t do it for the money. It’s a calling. They’ll sweat blood for these kids. It’s a mess and it has to be fixed.”

Parfitt has so far been able to raise $40,636 and had $12,816 left in the bank as May 25, according to the latest state campaign filings.

His contributors include Nephron Pharmaceuticals and the S.C. Chamber of Commerce PAC, which each gave $1,000,the maximum a contributor can give to a state legislative candidate.

Hill has so far raised more than $51,000 for his bid to keep the House seat and had $22,327 left in the bank, according to the latest filings. If re-elected, Hill said he’d be the first to extend an olive branch and work again to pass constitutional carry, get rid of “corrupt” judges and pass medical cannabis legislation.

“I do feel very good about my prospects at this point in time,” Hill said. “Stems back to the fact that people here in District 8, I know them better than the people in Columbia propping up my opponent.. ... My opponent hasn’t earned that trust.”

This story was originally published June 4, 2020 at 5:00 AM.

Maayan Schechter

The State

Maayan Schechter (My-yahn Schek-ter) is the senior editor of The State’s politics and government team. She has covered the S.C. State House and politics for The State since 2017. She grew up in Atlanta, Ga. and graduated from the University of North Carolina-Asheville in 2013. She previously worked at the Aiken Standard and the Greenville News. She has won reporting awards in South Carolina. Support my work with a digital subscription