The 2024 South Carolina primary season ended Tuesday night with dozens of freshly-minted Republican and Democratic nominees but, analysts say, only one big winner — former President Donald J. Trump.
Though his name wasn’t on any June 11 ballot, GOP candidates who embraced Trump’s fiery brand of right-wing populism defeated Republican regulars in high-profile races from the Lowcountry to the Upstate.
“In the Republican primaries, it was the Trumpists versus the Supertrumpists,” said Neal Thigpen, a dean of S.C. political scientists and an early architect of the modern Palmetto State GOP. “And the Supertrumpists won.”
On the other side of the aisle, Democrats had a quieter night with lower intraparty stakes and fewer hard-fought contests. But party leaders say they’ve nominated strong candidates in districts across the state.
“There are some very good Democratic candidates on the ballot who are going to put together good general election campaigns,” said former state Democratic party chair Trav Robertson, adding that he expects the party to pick up seats in the legislature and at the local level. “That’s going to be exciting.”
The Republicans: Freedom Caucus rises, sister senators fall
For Republicans, the big story was the continued rise of the S.C. Freedom Caucus, a combative hard-right faction of GOP legislators who have frustrated and sometimes infuriated party leaders since its founding in 2022.
Targeted for defeat in a well-financed statewide campaign led by powerful House Speaker Murrell Smith, caucus members successfully defended all of their incumbents who were running Tuesday night. They didn’t, however, make headway in federal politics as two Freedom Caucus members lost in primary battles in the Upstate’s Third and Fourth GOP primaries for U.S. House.
In those races, Trump endorsed their opponents. In the Fourth District, incumbent Rep. William Timmons defeated the Freedom Caucus chairman, state Rep. Adam Morgan. And in the Third, state Rep. Stewart Jones, another caucus member, failed to make the runoff with Trump-endorsee Mark Burns and Sheri Biggs.
Meanwhile, they managed to knock off two members of Smith’s leadership team, Assistant Majority Leader Jay West (R-Anderson) and Rep. Bill Sandifer (R-Oconee), on their way to picking three seats overall, with two additional caucus members still alive in runoffs.
In a social media post, the Freedom Caucus called its victory a “huge night for the conservative movement in S.C.”
“When elected officials actually fight for the conservative values they hold, they get rewarded by Republican voters,” the message said. “The state Freedom Caucus movement continues to grow stronger with every election.”
Sister senators have trouble, low turnout
In addition to the Freedom Caucus wins, Tuesday saw the defeat of two of the three Republican “sister senators” who voted against the state’s strict abortion ban in 2023.
In Charleston, Sen. Sandy Senn fell to hardline S.C. House Republican Matt Lieber by 31 votes, while Kershaw Sen. Penry Gustafson got crushed by strongly pro-life candidate Allen Blackman. A third sister senator, Katrina Shealy of Lexington County, is facing a runoff with challenger Carlisle Kennedy on June 25.
In assessing the results, longtime S.C. Republican consultant Chip Felkel noted the unusually low 13.6% turnout in Tuesday’s elections, which amplifies the votes of those most motivated to get to the polls.
“You clearly had an angry electorate,” he told Statehouse Report. “And the establishment candidates got beat.”
As a result, political observers say, the state’s dominant political party continued its move toward a more confrontational, hard-edged style of politics characterized by all-or-nothing legislative tactics and performative outrage.
“You’re seeing Trumpism permeate at the state level,” College of Charleston political scientist Karyn Amira told Statehouse Report. “And my feeling is that it will probably continue to become more extreme as they look for people who are increasingly loyal and pure for this brand of politics.”
The Democrats: A big name goes down
On the Democratic side, party officials say they’ve nominated strong candidates in several local races, including former International African American Museum head Michael B. Moore, who’s challenging incumbent GOP U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace in the First District.
But perhaps the biggest news of the night was Calhoun County state Rep. Russell Ott’s narrow win over Richland Sen. Dick Harpootlian, a high-profile attorney and fixture in state party politics for more than thirty years.
The unusually tough primary race saw both candidates throw haymakers from the start, with Harpootlian attacking Ott for voting against abortion rights, and Ott criticizing Harpootian’s defense of infamous murderer Alex Murdaugh.
On election night, the tight race came down to Ott’s home of Calhoun County, which turned out in higher-than-average numbers for the local favorite son, giving Ott the win.
At a press conference the next morning, Harpootlian pledged to support Ott in the general election, and drew a sharp distinction between his conduct and President Trump’s after his 2020 loss to President Joe Biden.
“We went through a process yesterday [and] I lost,” he said. “The process worked. I’m not accusing anybody of stealing anything. I’m not having a temper tantrum. I’m not expressing some doubt in our system.”
But the 75-year-old Democratic Party warhorse made a point of closing what may be his last campaign with a smile.
“The tragedy from yesterday is that such a promising political future was nipped so early in the bud,” he said.
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