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Friday, March 29, 2024 - 06:02 AM

INDEPENDENT CONSERVATIVE VOICE OF UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA

First Published in 1994

INDEPENDENT CONSERVATIVE VOICE OF
UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA

The ten June primary in South Carolina will be the ultimate test of the effectiveness of open primaries on Republican nominations. The contest between incumbent Senator Lindsey Graham and six opponents in the Republican Primary will be the most interesting race in South Carolina and one of the most interesting in the nation this primary season.

The Greenville County Republican Party has an active lawsuit in Federal Court challenging the South Carolina Election Commission and the state legislature on the constitutionality of the open primary system.

Most readers of this column know that any registered voter can vote to select the Republican nominee in a so-called Republican Primary in South Carolina. This is a political scam on the voters of South Carolina that allows liberal Democrats to be elected and serve as Republicans while voting against legitimate conservative Republicans and Republican-sponsored legislation in the South Carolina House and Senate or the US Congress.

 

It will require a sizeable number of crossover Democrat voters to give Senator Graham a majority of the votes and provide a clean win, thereby avoiding a runoff with one of the challengers.

A competitive race for the Democratic nomination for Superintendent of Education could keep many Democrats voting in their own primary. That could hurt Graham, who will depend on Democrats to give him a victory both in the primary and a possible runoff.

Graham could benefit from Democrats who cross over to vote for Meka Childs for South Carolina Superintendent of Education in the Republican Primary. Childs is a former deputy to the current Superintendent and has his endorsement for the job. She probably has the strongest support from the education establishment, although she is running as a conservative opposed to Common Core.

Senator Graham is spending millions of dollars on television and radio ads and colorful mail-outs almost daily. The ads are very good and are probably very effective on “low information” voters. Graham has avoided his most controversial issues, such as his votes for two extremely liberal judges for the Supreme Court and his stand on amnesty for illegal aliens.

Three of the leading conservative challengers have an agreement that should one of them be in a runoff with Graham, the others will assist in their runoff bid.

The first female Citadel graduate and the only female challenging Graham is spending a great deal of money on television and radio ads. She does not mention Graham in her ads but implies that a change is needed. She moved to the state recently and is not considered to be a serious threat to Graham, but will pull a few votes away from someone.

Two latecomers to the race, Det Bowers, a former preacher, and Ben Dunn, a lawyer, will not likely be a serious factor in the contest.

The three leading challengers will be dividing most of the anti-Graham vote. They are Bill Connor, Lee Bright and Richard Cash. Cash is highly regarded in conservative Christian and pro-life circles. He also has excellent name recognition in the Third Congressional District, where he outdrew Rep. Jeff Duncan in a primary, but narrowly lost to Duncan in the runoff.

Senator Lee Bright is a current member of the South Carolina Senate. He is the only candidate that has won an election and has a voting record. Bright has a reputation for being uncompromising on issues he feels are important. Like Cash, he is not a household name outside the Upstate.

Bill Connor may provide the greatest threat to Graham, and would be a worthy opponent in a primary runoff. Like Graham, Connor is an attorney and military reservist. The difference is that Graham served as a military lawyer (JAG) and Connor served as an Infantry troop commander and military advisor in the Middle East Wars. He has statewide name recognition because he was a candidate for Lieutenant Governor four years ago.

Should Senator Graham win the primary outright or in a runoff, he may face a challenge in the General Election from former Republican State Treasurer Thomas Ravenel, who could run as an Independent petition candidate.

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