YORK COUNTY, S.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A push from a small South Carolina GOP group, the “America First Movement,” is working to change how Republican voters make their voices heard in elections.
York County Republican and Representative for the 48th district Brandon Guffey says the group wants to end the state’s Republican primaries.
“It’s trying to say that we don’t have conservative enough legislators in office. Essentially what they’re saying is the local party is saying if y’all don’t do what we tell you to do, then we’re going to get you out of office,” Guffey said.
He says the group wants to make the party elect candidates by convention.
“So the people that are elected to the local party get together and then they decide. They can just say, no, you can’t run as a Republican because you don’t agree with us. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been in there,” he said.
Guffey believes it takes the voice of the people away. The group would need 3/4 of the delegates at a party convention to get the process moving in that direction; allowing them to have the final say in candidates for local and state offices.
Carol Herring is active in several York County Republican organizations.
“It is my right as a citizen to be able to speak. So I don’t want that taken away. And I know that we have the national convention, I understand that, but it still comes from people going to the polls in their individual states and making decisions. And we all see what happens and Iowa, they do a caucus. And so it takes them hours and hours and hours,” she said.
The York County Republican Party will hold a meeting Saturday morning to continue the discussion.
“I think the reason this came up is primarily because of the closed versus open primaries. And most of the people I know are actually in favor of a closed primary for only a registered Republican would vote in a republican primary. Only a registered Democrat would vote in a democrat primary,” Herring said.
We texted, emailed, and called York County GOP chair Larry Barnett for further clarification and comment on the initiative on Wednesday. He did not respond.
