Walter Whetsell, of Starboard Communications Political Consultants, is clearly the most powerful man in S.C. Politics.
He is the consultant for the entire S.C. House Republican Party. He also represents Nikki Haley, Myrtle Beach Mayor Brenda Bethune, the Mayor of Charleston, S.C., and a who’s who name of State Representatives and State Senators in S.C.
His PAC, The Palmetto Truth Project, poured millions of dollars into Tuesday’s primary elections. The PAC’s desire was to completely eliminate the S.C. Freedom Caucus in the state. The goal was to replace this group with more left leaning candidates.
Here is a scorecard on how well Walter Whetsell performed yesterday.
Whetsell swept Horry County with his more liberal leaning incumbents of District 61 Rep. Carla Schuessler and District 106 Representative Lawyer Val Guest. Most other left leaning Republican candidates in the county ran unopposed.
The Upstate Scorecard went poorly for Walter Whetsell and his Palmetto Truth Project.
Having brewed for two plus years, the battle between the state House GOP Caucus, with PAC ad buys from the Palmetto Truth Project, and the S.C. Freedom Caucus played out in 32 districts. The Freedom Caucus clearly won.
Jay West, R-Anderson, who serves as assistant majority leader, lost to Lee Gilreath, a Freedom Caucus-allied candidate in Upstate House District 7. Powerful, long standing Representative William E. “Bill” Sandifer III lost to Freedom Caucus candidate Adam Duncan in Upstate House District 2.
Representative “Bill” Sandifer III has been a member of the House Labor, Commerce, and Industry Committee since 1995 and serves as its chairman. That all ended yesterday.
In House District 34, currently represented by state Rep. Roger Nutt, R-Spartanburg, who chose to run for state Senate, Freedom Caucus aligned candidate Sarita Edgerton won the primary with 40.43 percent. With 33.76 percent of the vote, GOP aligned Joanne LaBounty came in second.
Over $3 million spent in ad buys
Between the Palmetto Truth Project and the S.C. Freedom Caucus, over an estimated $3 million was spent in ad buys. In what was among the lowest turnout in S.C. voting history, only a handful of seats turned over.
For Walter Whetsell and the Palmetto Truth Project, South Carolina’s conservative upstate proved to be untouchable.
For the Freedom Caucus, the more liberal leaning Horry County candidates could not be taken from their perch.
The night was largely a stalemate. However, the Freedom Caucus scored the signature wins.
BIGGEST NEWS OF THE NIGHT
While the drama between these two played out, the biggest news of the night was the ouster of Democrat power player, Dick Harpootlian.
Harpootlian has been a long standing ally of Senator Luke Rankin, and a friend to Horry County’s RINO coast.
His previous positions include solicitor (district attorney) for the Fifth Judicial Circuit of South Carolina from 1991 to 1995, and chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party from 1998 to 2003.
Harpootlian famously represented murderer Alex Murdaugh who was convicted of killing his wife and son. It was Murdaugh who helped S.C. Horry Senator Luke Rankin become S.C. Judiciary Chair.
Rankin beat his opponent Autry Benton by 10 points in yesterday’s primary.
SC JOURNALIST MANDY MATNEY ENJOYS A HARPOOTLIAN LOSS
NO MORE DICKS IN THE SENATE!!!
— Mandy Matney (@MandyMatney) June 12, 2024
HARPOOTLIAN LOST! pic.twitter.com/i9srnj5ztj