Time may very well resolve what hard core conservative S.C. voters have not been able to accomplish in 50 years. According to reports, from Fitsnews of Columbia, Hugh Leatherman (aged 90) is now returning campaign donations to donors.
A recent health issue has the powerful Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and Vice Chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee weighing retirement.
Leatherman is without question the most powerful Senator in S.C.
A lifelong Democrat, Leatherman changed his party affiliation in 1994. The Senator remains a staunch Democrat in reality. The Senator from Florence, S.C. champions and fights for liberal policies.
His departure will change the entire landscape of the S.C. Senate. The Senate is much more likely to take a conservative bent once he leaves office.
PASSED OVER
The Ying to Leatherman’s Yang, would have to be 30 year incumbent Horry County Senator Luke Rankin. A lifelong Democrat, Rankin also switched parties in 2004.
He also remains a staunch Democrat.
Speculation has been for decades that Rankin would take the top spot in S.C. politics once Leatherman retired. His colleagues are having none of that.
Rankin has been passed over in lieu of:
- Senator Harvey Peeler, Chairman, Senate Interstate Cooperation Committee. Peeler serves as Senator from Cherokee, Spartanburg, Union & York Counties.
In his early 70s, Peeler is much more conservative than Rankin and will bring a much more conservative approach to all things South Carolina.
2. Shane Massey – S.C. Senator serving Aiken, Edgefield, Lexington, McCormick & Saluda Counties.
In his mid forties, Massey is much more conservative than Peeler. Upon Leatherman’s departure, Massey will be the number two senator in the state, should he decide to stay in the S.C. Senate
Rumors have him considering a run for S.C. Governor against incumbent Henry McMaster.
OPEN PRIMARIES
Open Republican primaries, which allow Democrats to vote in the Republican primaries, have kept Leatherman and Rankin in office long since their own expiration dates.
However, even open primaries can’t stop the tide nor time.
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