These days, one South Carolina Republican Leader says the SC GOP is acting like the Biden Political Camp—using “down and dirty politics” to eliminate rivals, in this case, even those within its own party.
This sort of illegal maneuvering should be the stuff of old black and white movies—especially those with gangsters–but is becoming acceptable even in the SC GOP right here at home, according to Jeff Davis, who has voiced his opinion frequently on “MySCGOP.news,” an internet news source for Republicans that he helped create.
Davis just happens to share a name with a famous president of the Confederacy—but he’s nowhere near the politics of that Davis, unless bucking dirty politics could be claimed. A former Greenville County GOP Chairman, an attorney, CPA and school choice advocate, this Jeff Davis has one real goal: to represent his GOP fellow Republicans who voted for him.
In fact, Davis was recently #2 vote-getter for SC State GOP Party chairperson for 2023—making him 2nd to Drew McKissick, who won at the state convention May 20th.
McKissick has a very important position with Republicans. He currently serves alongside Ronna McDaniel as Co-Chairperson of the Republican National Committee with much power in GOP matters across the nation.
In the state election, Davis brought in 309 votes (33%) to McKissick’s 485 votes (51.8%) and Zoe Warren’s 123 votes (13.1%), of West Columbia. Greenville County gave 75 votes for Davis, 12 votes for Warren and 1 for Tim Cox of Charleston County, according to the Greenville News-Herald report. The Greenville “vote for Drew McKissick was zero (0).
That 33% was a respect able 2nd statewide, showing a considerable following among South Carolina Republicans. It should have made him worthy of representing his Greenville GOP constituents at their June 16 Executive Committee Meeting, held in Columbia. But Davis reports that when he got to the meeting, he was met at the door by two Columbia police officers who barred him from entrance in a shocking action.
Davis said he was shocked by the action. “I knew that there had been a movement to keep me from leadership activities in the state Republican Party, but I really did not expect it to go this far,” Davis said. “I have just run for State Chairperson, so apparently the idea was to eliminate the competition—that’s all.”
On MySCGOP.news, Davis explains that just prior to that meeting, State GOP Executive Committee Chairlady Hope Walker sent him an email stating that he was being banned from the Executive Committee because in December 2021 (a year and a half ago), he had “lied” about SLED investigating Chad Connelly, former state GOP Chair. Davis states that in fact, Attorney General Alan Wilson’s office did say they investigated Connelly but found nothing they thought to charge him for.
Dorchester County GOP Chairperson Joe Cali stated that he arrived about ten minutes before the June 16 Executive Committee meeting began. ‘I was told that Davis had already been escorted out. I was pretty shocked,” Cali stated.
“I really wasn’t sure what was going on, but they said that he had been banned back in 2021 from the Executive Committee and that ban continued,” Cali added. “I don’t know him personally but his message seems good and there were 434 people who voted for him as State Chairperson. It seems they disenfranchised not only the Greenville Republicans but many others.”
Cali said that when the meeting took place after Davis left, there was a motion and vote regarding his banning there. There was not a ballot vote but a voice vote. I’m not sure how representatives from one county, like Davis, can be ‘banned’ from participating in the group their voters went them to. If that’s the case, can’t all government groups just gang up on people and decide whoever they want to get rid of—no matter that they were elected to represent those voters? That doesn’t seem to make sense.”
A second GOP County leader who requested anonymity to avoid potential backlash, stated that while he thinks Davis may have gone beyond his authority back in December 2021 as a “guest” at that meeting when he spoke out aggressively and was banned by state GOP leaders, he thinks that Greenville Republicans have
“State [GOP] leaders tried to take over the Greenville County Reorganization convention this year, but in the end, Greenville Republicans still voted in Jeff Davis,” the county official stated. “I believe when tempers die down and cooler heads prevail, they will see that it is only right for Davis to be allowed to participate and not ban him based on a ‘forever’ law, for Greenville has chosen him to lead them.”
Other questions about State Republican Party leaders overstepping their authority began after the famed January 6, 2021 Trump Rally and the so-called breech of the U.S. Capitol. That question concerned an event called “Rock the Red” held in Greenville, where many showed support for MAGA and grassroots Republicanism.
At the event, a loud and aggressive attendee was asked to leave after interrupting the proceedings. Jeff Davis was among those who chose to have him escorted out.
Following that event, what looked like a targeting of the Greenville and Horry County Republican Parties began. Pro-MAGA media personality Chad Caton, host of the “I’m Fired Up!” radio show and investigative journalist Tracy Beanz were coerced from their positions in the Horry County GOP. The Standard SC newspaper was also targeted.
The State Republican Party then took over the Greenville County Republican hierarchy, as well as the Horry County Republican hierarchy, putting others in leadership. This amounted to interfering in the leadership elections for two counties who have very large Republican voting populations.
The banning of Jeff Davis as leader of the Greenville GOP began in December 2021 when he was accused of “lying” that there was a SLED investigation of Chad Connelly of Newberry. Davis stated that the SC Attorney General’s office says an investigation was done but Connelly was found innocent.
Overstepping by the state continued, according to Davis, when the Greenville County Convention was opened in February 2023—only to be promptly stopped with a “Motion to Adjourn” made by Connelly himself. Why did this occur? It seems that the state—not Greenville County—had decided Davis was never to be allowed into power, and apparently allowed Connelly to help determine who would—or would not—lead Greenville County.
Fast forward to May 20, 2023 (a year and a half after Davis had been excluded from the Greenville leadership initially). Now Davis had run against Drew McKissick for State Chairperson of the Republican Party. The election took place with, as stated, Greenville County giving 75 votes for Jeff Davis and none for McKissick from Greenville County; McKissick won the office.
Following this move, on June 16, Davis was then prevented from attending the State Republican Executive Committee Meeting by two Columbia police officers. The reason stated was because he had been banned in December 2021.
However, he had been allowed to participate in the state election, representing a hefty portion of Greenville County voters. How could he be allowed to participate in the state election but then banned from serving in his elected position to the state’s Executive Committee meeting as the Greenville EC?
Attorney General’s Office and SC GOP Silent
The Standard attempted to get a response from Attorney General Alan Wilson’s office but none was received. Our efforts for comment from the SC GOP Chairman also were unanswered. At press time this writer nor our newspaper had heard anything from Attorney General Alan Wilson on whether the SC GOP leadership has the right to ban Jeff Davis from his elected position. Neither did we hear from State GOP Chairman Drew McKissick for comment.
There is reason to wonder whether state GOP officials are fairly involved in their leadership roles representing all Republicans in South Carolina. Some more conservative Republicans in the state may question this, but especially those in Greenville and Horry County.
A more serious question is whether the recent battles over leadership and control of county Republican positions in the party will seriously affect the upcoming presidential race for 2024.
State Republicans have been strongly pro-Donald Trump in the past, but there are new faces on this year’s horizon. Both former governor Nikki Haley and SC Senator Tim Scott are offering for President in 2024.
Are all these political maneuverings to advance one candidate over others? Or are they just a taste of the in-fighting that might be in store with so much riding on 2024 Presidential hopefuls in South Carolina?
Editor’s Correction: This article was first published erroneously under the authorship of Michael Reed. That was in error. It is completely the work of Lisa Rudisill.
Lisa Carol Rudisill, M.T.S., is a magna cum laud graduate of NC State University and Liberty University where she earned a Master of Theology. She writes novels about her family history during the Civil War in North and South Carolina. She is a freelance writer, editorialist and a contributor to The Standard newspaper. If you want to continue to see independent thought and reports please “like”, comment, share with a friend, and donate to support The Standard on this page to assure the continued availability of news that is ignored too often by the dominant media.
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