- South Carolina
Primary
« South Carolina Endorsements—Republicans
South Carolina Endorsements—Republicans
The Republican presidential candidates look for endorsements from
federal, statewide and local elected officials as well as former
elected officials and prominent figures. The Republican Party is
very strong in South Carolina, so there are a lot of GOP elected
officials to woo. Republicans have 7 of 8 members of the
congressional delegation, all nine
state-wide constitutional offices, 28
of 46 members of the state Senate, and 78 of 124 members of the
House. For the 2012 cycle,
Democracy in Action found for Republicans 12 of 27 state
Senators and 46 of 76 state Representatives made an endorsement in the
primary. This cycle there appeared to be considerably fewer
endorsements by state Representatives, possibly due to the candidacy of
home state U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (Graham ended his candidacy on Dec.
21).
Democrats
|
Republicans
Federal U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (elected 2002) BUSH Jan. 15, 2016 + U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (appointed Dec. 2012; elected 2014) RUBIO Feb. 2, 2016 + CD-1 Rep. Mark Sanford (coast from NC border to Charleston County; i.e. Lowcountry) CRUZ Feb. 19, 2016 + CD-2 Rep. Joe Wilson (Columbia to Beaufort and Hilton Head Island, elected in 2001) RUBIO reported Feb 20, 2016 + CD-3 Rep. Jeff Duncan (southwest, elected 2010) CRUZ Feb. 2, 2016 + CD-4 Rep. Trey Gowdy (Greenville-Spartanburg, elected 2010) RUBIO Dec. 29, 2015 + CD-5 Rep. Mick Mulvaney (northern SC, elected 2010) PAUL Sept. 21, 2015 + State Gov. Nikki Haley RUBIO Feb. 17, 2016 + Lt. Gov. Henry McMaster TRUMP an. 27, 2016 + Secretary of State Mark Hammond Treasurer Curtis M. Loftis, Jr. Attorney General Alan Wilson Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman BUSH Feb. 17, 2016 + Commissioner of Agriculture Hugh E Weathers BUSH Feb. 1, 2016 + Adjuntant General Major General Bob Livingston BUSH Feb. 10, 2016 + |
ADVERTISEMENT |
Name | Occupation |
YOB |
Senator
Since |
District
-
City/Town |
County(ies) |
||
Hugh
Leatherman President Pro Tem |
businessman |
'53 |
1981 |
31 - Florence |
Florence, Darlington |
||
Harvey
Peeler Majority Leader |
dairyman/ businessman |
'48 |
1981 |
14 - Gaffney |
Cherokee, Spartanburg, Union, York |
||
Thomas
Alexander |
businessman-office supply |
'56 |
Oct. 1994* |
1 - Walhalla |
Oconee, Pickens |
||
Sean
Bennett |
financial planner |
'68 |
2013 |
38 - Summerville |
Dorchester, Berkeley,
Charleston |
||
Lee
Bright |
transportation |
'70 |
2009 |
12 - Roebuck |
Spartanburg, Greenville |
CRUZ annc'd May 5, 2015 |
+ |
Kevin
Bryant |
pharmacist |
'67 |
2005 |
3 - Anderson |
Anderson |
||
Paul
Campbell |
retired/ consultant |
'46 |
Aug. 2007 |
44 - Goose Creek |
Berkeley, Charleston, Dorchester |
KASICH annc'd Dec. 21, 2015 | + |
Chip
Campsen |
businessman, attorney |
'59 |
2005* |
43 - Charleston |
Charleston, Beaufort, Colleton |
||
Ray
Cleary |
dentist |
'48 |
2005 |
34 - Murrells Inlet |
Georgetown, Charleston, Horry |
KASICH annc'd Oct. 21, 2015 |
+ |
Tom
Corbin |
businessman |
'65 |
2013* |
5 - Travelers Rest |
Greenville, Spartanburg |
||
John
Courson |
insurance executive |
'44 |
1985 |
20 - Columbia |
Richland, Lexington |
||
Ronnie
Cromer |
pharmacist |
'47 |
Apr. 2003 |
18 - Prosperity |
Newberrry, Lexington, Union |
KASICH annc'd Feb. 15, 2016 | + |
Tom Davis |
attorney |
''60 |
2009 |
46 - Beaufort |
Beaufort, Jasper |
PAUL Aprl 9, 2015 |
|
Mike Fair |
insurance |
'46 |
1995* |
6 - Greenville |
Greenville |
||
Greg
Gregory |
pres., builders supply co. |
'63 |
1993-2008 Apr. 2011 |
16 - Lancaster |
Lancaster, York |
KASICH annc'd Dec. 21, 2015 | + |
Larry
Grooms |
businessman |
Nov. 1997 |
37 - Charleston |
Berkeley, Charleston |
RUBIO reported Feb. 5, 2016 |
+ |
|
Wes Hayes |
attorney |
'52 |
Sept. 1991* |
15 - Rock Hill |
York |
||
Greg
Hembree |
attorney |
'60 |
2013 |
28 - N. Myrtle Beach |
Horry, Dillon |
||
Larry
Martin |
textiles |
1993* |
2 - Pickens |
Pickens |
|||
Shane
Martin |
engineer, business owner |
'71 |
2009 |
13 - Pauline |
Spartanburg, Greenville, Union |
||
Shane
Massey |
attorney |
'75 |
Nov. 2007 |
25 - Edgefield |
Edgefield, Aiken, Lex., McC, Saluda |
||
Billy
O'Dell |
ceo |
'38 |
1989 |
4 - Ware Shoals |
Abbeville, Anderson, Greenwood |
||
Luke
Rankin |
attorney |
'62 |
1993 |
33 - Conway |
Horry |
||
Katrina
Shealy |
insurance consultant |
'54 |
2013 |
23 - Lexington |
Lexington |
BUSH annc'd Nov. 3, 2015 |
+ |
Paul
Thurmond |
attorney |
'76 |
2013 |
41 - Charleston |
Charleston, Dorchester |
BUSH annc'd Oct. 22, 2015 |
+ |
Ross
Turner |
president of insur. agency |
'64 |
2013 |
8 - Greenville |
Greenville |
BUSH Feb. 17, 2016 | + |
Danny
Verdin |
owner, farm & garden center |
'64 |
2001 |
9 - Laurens |
Laurens, Greenville |
||
Tom Young |
attorney |
'71 |
2013* |
24 - Aiken |
Aiken |
* indicattes previous service in House.
BUSH |
CRUZ |
KASICH |
PAUL |
RUBIO |
Katrina Shealy Paul Thurmond Ross Turner |
Lee Bright |
Paul Campbell, Jr. Ray Cleary Ronnie Cromer Greg Gregory |
Tom
Davis |
Larry Grooms |
House Republicans (78) +
Name | Occupation | YOB |
State
Rep.
Since |
District
-
City/Town |
County |
||
Jay Lucas
+ Speaker |
attorney |
'57 |
1999 |
65 - Hartsville |
Darlington, Cfield, Kers., Lanc. |
||
Tommy
Pope Speaker Pro Tem |
attorney |
'62 |
2011 |
47 - York |
York |
||
Bruce
Bannister Majority Leader |
attorney |
'72 |
2005 |
24 - Greenville |
Greenville |
BUSH Jan. 5, 2016 |
> |
Gary
Simrill Assist. Majority Leader |
businessman |
'66 |
1993 |
46 - Rock Hill |
York |
||
Eddie
Tallon Majority Whip |
ret. law enforcement |
'44 |
2011 |
33 - Spartanburg |
Spartanburg |
||
Rita
Allison |
communications |
1993-2002
2009
|
36 - Lyman |
Spartanburg, Greenville |
|||
Todd
Atwater |
ceo, SC Medical Assoc. |
'66 |
2011 |
87 - Lexington |
Lexington |
RUBIO Jan. 26, 2016 |
+ |
Nathan
Ballentine |
vp, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage |
'70 |
2005 |
71 - Chapin |
Richland, Lexington |
RUBIO June 16, 2015 tweet | |
Eric
Bedingfield |
real estate, businessman |
'67 |
2007 |
28 - Belton |
Greenville |
||
Kenny
Bingham |
civil engineer/ consultant |
'62 |
2001 |
89 - Cayce |
Lexington |
||
Jeff
Bradley |
financial advisor |
'57 |
2014 |
123 - Hilton Head Island |
Beaufort |
KASICH Nov. 18, 2015 |
+ |
Doug
Brannon |
attorney |
'61 |
2011 |
38 - Landrum |
Spartanburg |
||
Mike
Burns |
businessman |
'52 |
2013 |
17 - Taylors |
Greenville |
||
Bill
Chumley |
landscaping/farmer |
'47 |
2011 |
35 - Woodruff |
Greenville, Spartanburg |
CRUZ May 5, 2015 | + |
Gary
Clary |
ret. circuit judge |
'48 |
2014 |
3 - Central |
Pickens |
KASICH Oct. 21, 2015 | + |
Alan
Clemmons |
real estate attorney businessman |
'58 |
2003 |
107 - Myrtle Beach |
Horry |
||
Derham
Cole, Jr. |
attorney |
'77 |
2009 |
32 - Spartanburg |
Spartanburg |
||
Neal
Collins |
attorney |
'82 |
2014 |
5 - Easley |
Pickens |
RUBIO May 9, 2015 tweet |
|
Chris
Corley |
attorney |
'80 |
2014 |
84 - Graniteville |
Aiken |
||
Heather
Crawford |
businesswoman/ realtor |
2012 |
68 - Socastee |
Horry |
KASICH Aug. 17, 2015 |
+ |
|
Bill
Crosby |
ret. businessman |
2011 |
117 - No. Charleston |
Berkeley, Charleston |
|||
Joseph
Daning |
educator |
'42 |
Mar. 2008 |
92 - Goose Creek |
Berkeley |
||
Greg
Delleney, Jr. |
attorney |
'52 |
Oct. 1991 |
43 - Chester |
Chester, York |
HUCKABEE Aug. 16, 2015 |
+ |
Greg
Duckworth |
landscape architect/owner |
'64 |
2014 |
104 - Myrtle Beach |
Horry |
||
Shannon
Erickson |
teacher, owner |
'63 |
Oct. 2007 |
124 - [Beaufort Co.] |
Beaufort |
||
Raye
Felder |
businesswoman, insurance sales |
2013 |
26 - Fort Mill |
York |
|||
Kirkman
Finlay |
business owner |
'70 |
2013 |
75 - Columbia |
Richland |
BUSH Feb. 17, 2016 |
+ |
Mike
Forrester |
economic development |
'51 |
2009 |
34 - Spartanburg |
Spartanburg |
||
Russell
Fry |
attorney |
'85 |
2015 |
106 - Surfside Beach |
Horry |
||
Craig
Gagnon |
chiropractor |
'60 |
2013 |
11 - Abbeville |
Abbeville, Anderson |
||
Mike
Gambrell |
self employed |
'58 |
2007 |
7 - Honea Path |
Anderson, Abbeville |
||
Stephen
Goldfinch, Jr. |
attorney |
'82 |
2013 |
108 - Murrells Inlet |
Georgetown, Charleston |
||
Dan
Hamilton |
businessman |
'76 |
2009 |
20 - Taylors |
Greenville |
RUBIO Jan. 26, 2016 |
+ |
Kevin
Hardee |
real estate agent |
'65 |
2012 |
105 - Loris |
Horry |
||
Phyllis
Henderson |
businesswoman |
Dec. 2010 |
21 - Greer |
Greenville |
FIORINA Aug.
13, 2015 KASICH Feb. 12, 2016 |
+ + |
|
Bill
Herbkersman |
eco-developer |
'58 |
2003 |
118 - Bluffton |
Beaufort, Jasper |
||
Donna C.
Hicks |
business owner |
'60 |
2013 |
37 - Boiling Springs |
Spartanburg |
FIORINA July
16, 2015 KASICH Feb. 11, 2016 |
+ + |
Jonathon
D. Hill |
businessman |
'85 |
2014 |
8 - Townville |
Anderson |
||
David R.
"Davey" Hiott |
owner of printing company |
'60 |
2005 |
4 - Pickens |
Anderson |
||
Bill
Hixon |
Hixon Realty Hixon Insurance |
'57 |
2011 |
83 - North Augusta |
Aiken, Edgefield |
||
Jenny
Anderson Horne |
attorney |
'72 |
2009 |
94 - Summerville |
Dorchester, Charleston |
||
Chip
Huggins |
dir. bus. dev. for Duraclean |
'61 |
Aug. 1999 |
85 - Columbia |
Lexington |
||
Jeffrey
E. "Jeff" Johnson |
attorney/ businessman |
'71 |
2014 |
58 - Conway |
Horry |
||
Ralph
Kennedy, Jr. |
business owner/ attorney |
'58 |
2013 |
39 - Leesville |
Lexington, Saluda |
||
Chip
Limehouse, III |
comm. real estate, management |
'62 |
1995 |
110 - Charleston |
Charleston |
KASICH Dec. 22, 201 | + |
Dwight
A. Loftis |
ret. insurance agent |
'43 |
1996-2010
?
|
19 - Greenville |
Greenville |
||
Deborah
A. Long |
optomistrist |
'55 |
2009 |
46 - Indian Land |
Lancaster, York |
||
Phillip
D. Lowe |
physical therapist, developer |
2007 |
60 - Florence |
Darlington, Florence |
|||
Peter M.
McCoy, Jr. |
attorney |
'78 |
2011 |
115 - Charleston |
Charleston |
PAUL Nov. 24, 2015 |
+ |
James H.
"Jim" Merrill |
public relations consultant |
'67 |
2001 |
99 - Charleston |
Berkeley, Charleston |
TRUMP Feb. 25, 2015 |
|
V.
Stephen "Steve" Moss |
ret. banker |
'50 |
Apr. 2009 |
30 - Blacksburg |
Cherokee, York |
||
Dennis
C. Moss |
ret. law enforcement |
'54 |
2007 |
29 - Gaffney |
Cherokee, Chester,York |
HUCKABEE
Oct. 29, 2015 BUSH |
+ + |
Chris
Murphy |
attorney |
'68 |
2011 |
98 - No. Charleston |
Dorchester |
||
Wendy K.
Nanney |
account executive |
'65 |
2009 |
22 - Greenville |
Greenville |
CRUZ Sept. 15, 2015 |
+ |
Wm.
Weston Newton |
attorney |
'67 |
2013 |
120 - Bluffton |
Beaufort, Jasper |
||
Ralph
Norman |
real estate developer |
'53 |
2005-06 Nov. 2009 |
48 - Rock Hill |
York |
WALKER Aug. 12, 2015 | + |
Michael
A. "Mike" Pitts |
ret. police |
2003 |
14 - Laurens |
Laurens, Greenwood |
PAUL Aug. 12, 2015 |
+ |
|
Joshua
Putnam |
landscape supervisor |
'88 |
Aug. 30,
2011 |
10 - Piedmont |
Anderson, Greenville, Pickens |
WALKER Aug. 12, 2015 (hosted Aug. 8 event) CARSON Nov. 13, 2015 BJU |
+ |
Rick
Quinn |
campaign consultant |
'65 |
1989-2004 2011 |
69 - Cayce |
Lexington |
BUSH Feb. 2016 |
|
R.
Shannon Riley |
businessman |
2013 |
13 - Hodges |
Greenwood |
|||
Samuel
Rivers, Jr. |
minister and senior pastor |
2013 |
15 - Goose Creek |
Berkeley, Charleston |
BUSH rep'td June 17, 2015 |
> | |
Mike
Ryhal |
businessman |
'57 |
2013 |
56 - Myrtle Beach |
Horry |
TRUMP July 9,
2015 |
+ |
William
"Bill" Sandifer, III |
businessman |
'45 |
1995 |
2 - Seneca |
Oconee, Pickens |
||
J. Gary
Simrill |
businessman |
'66 |
1993 |
46 - Rock Hill |
York |
||
Garry
Smith |
businessman |
'57 |
2003 |
27 - Simpsonville |
Greenville |
WALKER Aug. 12, 2015 CRUZ Dec. 7, 2015 Furman |
+ |
F.
Michael "Mike" Sottile |
indep. ins. agent |
'48 |
2009 |
112 - Isle of Palms |
Charleston |
||
Eddie
Southard |
business owner |
'46 |
Sept. 2011 |
100 - Monoka Corner |
Berkeley |
||
L. Kit
Spires |
pharmacist/ pharmacy owner |
'54 |
2007 |
96 - Pelion |
Lexington |
||
Tommy M.
Stringer |
pension consultant and businessman |
'66 |
2009 |
18 - Greer |
Greenville |
||
Eddie
Tallon, Sr. |
ret. law enforcement |
'44 |
2011 |
33 - Spartanburg |
Spartanburg |
||
Bill
Taylor |
ret. media consultant |
'46 |
2011 |
86 - Aiken |
Aiken |
||
Anne J.
Thayer |
properties owner |
2011 |
9 - Belton |
Anderson |
|||
McLain
R. "Mac" Toole |
businessman |
'46 |
2003 |
88 - West Columbia |
Lexington |
||
Don L.
Wells |
owner of Park Avenue Paints |
'59 |
2013 |
81 - Aiken |
Aiken |
||
W. Brian
White |
2001 |
6 - Anderson |
Anderson |
||||
William
"Bill" Whitmire |
ret. educator, owner S&W Farms |
'48 |
2003 |
1 - Walhalla |
Oconee |
||
Mark N.
Willis |
long term care admin. |
'63 |
2009 |
16 - Fountain Inn |
Greenville, Laurens |
||
Richard
L. "Richie" Yow |
Air Force veteran |
'74 |
2014 |
53 - Chesterfield |
Chesterfield, Lancaster |
general election on Sept. 15. Attorney Russell Fry (R) won the runoff and was unopposed in September.
BUSH |
CARSON |
CRUZ |
FIORINA |
HUCKABEE |
Bruce Bannister Kirkman Finlay Dennis C. Moss* Richard Quinn Samuel Rivers Jr. |
Josh Putnam |
Bill Chumley Wendy Nanney Garry Smith* |
Phyllis
Henderson Donna C. Hicks |
Greg
Delleney, Jr. Dennis C. Moss |
KASICH | PAUL |
RUBIO |
TRUMP |
WALKER |
Jeffrey Bradley Heather Crawford Gary Clary Phyllis Henderson* Donna Hicks* Chip Limehouse, III |
Peter
McCoy Mike Pitts |
Todd Atwater Nathan Ballentine Neal Collins Dan Hamilton |
James H. (Jim) Merrill Mike Ryhal |
Ralph
Norman Josh Putnam Garry Smith |
_________
Local Elected Officials
46 Counties and 269 incorporated cities and towns
SC Republican Party State Central Committee
Congressional District Chairmen, Vice-Chairmen, and State Chairmen of official Republican auxiliaries are ex-officio members of the state committee.
Voting members of the State Executive Committee are the State Committeeman from each county, the National Committeeman, the National Committeewoman, president of the state Federation of Republican Women, the state First Vice-Chairman when not presiding.
Officers
Mr. Matt Moore, Columbia
State Chairman
Mrs. Cindy Costa, Folly Beach
National Committeewoman
Mr. Glenn McCall, Rock Hill
National Committeeman
State Senator Katrina Shealy, Lexington
First Vice Chairman
Mr. Nse Ekpo, Greenville
Second Vice Chairman
Mr. Taylor Mason,
Charleston
Third Vice Chairman
Congressional District Chairs
Mr. Jim Davis, Charleston
First Congressional District
Chairman
Mr. Ben Kinlaw, Barnwell
Second Congressional District
Chairman
Mrs. Susan Aiken, Anderson
Third Congressional District
Chairman
Mrs. Suzette Jordan, Greenville
Fourth Congressional District
Chairman
Mr. Brandon Newton, Lancaster
Fifth Congressional District
Chairman
Mr. Moye Graham, Manning
Sixth Congressional
District Chairman
Mr. Jerry Rovner, Pawley's
Island
Seventh Congressional District
Chairman
Affiliate Chairs
Miss Melissa Byars, Lexington
South Carolina Teenage Republicans
Chairman
Miss Grace Kerley, Columbia
South Carolina College Republicans
Chairman
Mrs. Kim Wellman,
Lexington
South Carolina Federation of
Republican Women President
Mr. Billy Simons, Charleston
South Carolina Young Republicans Chairman
County Leaders +