South-Carolina
South Carolina Closed Primary Debate: New Bill Introduced – FITSNews
by MARK POWELL
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For the second time this year, a bill requiring closed state primary elections has dropped in the South Carolina House of Representatives. The bill – H. 5183 – is currently residing in the chamber’s judiciary committee, where it faces an uncertain future.
This latest proposal, sponsored by state representative Mike Burns, fixes a flaw in a previously introduced version.
“It’s very similar to 3310,” explained state representative Jordan Pace, referencing a previous closed primary bill. “It’s virtually the same, with the exception of when you can register or affiliate for 2026 – and only in 2026 – the first time that a voter votes in a primary, they can sign the affiliation form when they vote.”
Pace is chairman of the S.C. Freedom Caucus, a group of conservative lawmakers who have been working for years to close partisan primary elections in the Palmetto State. Their objective? Limiting Democrat influence/interference in the selection of GOP representatives.
Under the previous version of the bill, critics expressed concern that some voters might not have time to qualify to cast their ballots in the upcoming Democratic and Republican primary elections on June 9, 2026.
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Current election law provides for an open primary. Any registered voter can request the partisan ballot of their choice on primary day (although they must pick one party or the other; they cannot vote for both).
For Pace and his fellow conservatives, that’s a big problem.
“Right now we have Democrats crossing over and voting in Republican primaries,” Pace explained. “And in some cases, we have Republicans crossing over to vote in Democrat primaries in a few spots around the state. There’s been like four ballot questions over the last decade on primary voting questions. And they all have come back with eighty percent or so saying, ‘crossing over into the other party’s primary is not what we want’. That’s what November (the general election) is for. It’s not what the primaries are for.”
Each state devises its own system for holding elections, and they vary widely across the country. South Carolina is one of fifteen states with an open primary. Nine others, plus the District of Columbia, hold closed primaries. The remainder have various hybrid formats – with the exception of five: Alaska, California, Louisiana, Nebraska, and Washington. These states have so-called “jungle primaries,” electoral free-for-alls with multi-party, nonpartisan voting.
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The latter is exactly the kind of political food fight that supporters of the traditional partisan system wish to avoid with closed primaries.
Many independent voters say they would feel left out with a closed primary. As one told us recently, “I don’t want my choices dictated to me by the political parties – I want to have a say in who appears on the ballot in November.”
According to Pace, that view misses the point of holding primaries in the first place.
“The reality is that the two parties are private organizations,” he said. “They’re private political organizations. Look at it this way: It’s like outsiders showing up at a lodge or some other social club or somebody else’s church and demanding to vote in their business meeting about whether to hire or fire a pastor or club president. If you’re not part of that organization, if you’re not affiliated with it, then you shouldn’t be allowed to make its decisions. Your vote is in November.”
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Pace also had this assessment of the current balloting situation: “Democrats shouldn’t be voting in Republican primaries, and Republicans shouldn’t be voting in Democratic primaries.”
Asked about the response to the new bill among House members, Pace was frank.
“Tepid would probably be the nicest way to say it,” he said. “There are several people in high-level positions who don’t seem to want this.”
The Freedom Caucus supports the measure, though, and Pace noted closing primaries “has been a Republican Party priority for the last 20 years.”
“When it comes to passing conservative policies, South Carolina is always dead last among Republican states,” Pace said. “Open primaries are a major contributor to that. And if we were to actually do this (enact closed primaries), as the people have said repeatedly they want, I think we would get better conservative policy passed in Columbia on a regular basis.”
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
J. Mark Powell is an award-winning former TV journalist, government communications veteran, and a political consultant. He is also an author and an avid Civil War enthusiast. Got a tip or a story idea for Mark? Email him at mark@fitsnews.com.
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CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — Six Republican candidates vying to become South Carolina’s next governor met in downtown Charleston for a wide-ranging debate that put abortion, infrastructure and the future of data centers at the center of the race.
The forum was held at the Sottile Theatre, where Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, state Sen. Josh Kimbrell, U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, Lowcountry businessman Rom Reddy and Attorney General Alan Wilson took the stage.
Questions included whether they would support a state hate crime law, how they would address concerns about growth and infrastructure, how to navigate collaboration, abortion and the future of data centers in the state.
One issue that drew near-unanimous opposition was state Senate Bill 1095, a proposed total abortion ban that passed out of committee earlier in the day. All of the candidates opposed the bill, but they differed on what they would do if it reached the governor’s desk.
READ MORE | South Carolina governor candidates tout infrastructure, growth at business forum
Norman said he would sign it.
“You know, this is an emotional issue, but I will tell you if this bill came to my desk as governor. If it passed the House and the Senate, I would sign it,” Norman said.
All of the other candidates on stage said they would veto the bill if it came across their desk as governor, with Reddy arguing the question should be decided by voters.
“The Supreme Court did not say the loudest voice in the ruling class prevails. It said it’s up to the people in the state, so let’s put it to a referendum,” Reddy said.
On infrastructure, candidates discussed reforming the South Carolina Department of Transportation and allowing private-sector involvement to help pay for improvements.
Wilson outlined ideas that included leasing interstate easements and expanding private express lanes.
“We privatized that grass between the interstates. We turn it into private express lanes that can be told we leased the easements on the sides of interstates to telecommunication companies and energy companies, and charge them for natural gas line and fiber optic fiber optic cables,” Wilson said.
Evette also pointed to public-private partnerships and the possibility of fast-pass lanes.
READ MORE | South Carolina governor candidates tout infrastructure, growth at business forum
“We want to make sure that we’re innovative public private partnerships coming in and creating fast pass lanes to allow people that are in a hurry to be able to utilize that,” Evette said.
The final question focused on data centers, with candidates agreeing corporations should “pay their way.”
“They should pay for their water. They should pay for their infrastructure, any roads around it, and we should look at what Governor Ron DeSantis has done in Florida with the large data centers that are coming to Florida. That should be the model in South Carolina and everywhere,” Mace said.
Kimbrell said the state should set limits to protect natural resources and guard against higher power costs for residents.
“Put parameters around data centers to ensure that the water consumption does not impact places like the ACE Basin,” Kimbrell said. “Ensuring that the Public Service Commission makes absolutely sure nobody’s power rate goes up and we try to get behind the meter energy grids in place so they can be self-sufficient.”
Two more debates are planned ahead of the primaries on June 9.
A bill that could make it a felony for doctors to perform an abortion is moving to the full South Carolina Senate with just a few weeks left in the legislative session.
The South Carolina Senate medical affairs committee continued a debate of Senate Bill 1095 on April 21 in Columbia. The bill, sponsored by State Sen. Richard Cash, R-Anderson, builds on a restrictive abortion bill that failed to progress in the fall.
The committee passed the measure in an 8-4 vote, moving it to the full Senate for consideration. Lawmakers have until May 14, the last day of the 2026 legislative session, to pass the bill for it to become law.
Senate Bill 1095, also called the “Unborn Child Protection Act,” bans performing an abortion or supplying abortion drugs. It makes it illegal for a woman to get an abortion, with the only exception being to save a pregnant woman’s life.
It also makes mifepristone and misoprostol Schedule IV controlled substances. Alprazolam (Xanax) and zolpidem (Ambien) are two other examples of Schedule IV substances.
Pro-Life Greenville, an anti-abortion organization based in Greenville, responded to the bill’s progress with “full endorsement” of the legislation.
“Unborn children, like all human beings, deserve to have their lives protected under law here in the Palmetto State,” Pro-Life Greenville stated. “Today’s vote by the SC Senate Medical Affairs Committee brings that urgent need one step closer to reality.”
Under the bill, a woman who has an abortion could face misdemeanor charges. The maximum sentence would be two years in jail with a $1,000 fine.
Those found guilty of performing an abortion or providing a pregnant woman with abortion-inducing drugs could face felony charges, a maximum sentence of 20 years in jail, and a possible $100,000 fine.
Planned Parenthood South Atlantic (PPSAT), a firm opponent of the bill, decried the Senate committee passage. PPSAT Director of Public Affairs Vicki Ringer said in a statement that the bill will cost people their lives, and it will make it more difficult for women to get reproductive and pregnancy healthcare.
“Abortion bans have and will continue to cost people their lives,” Ringer stated. “As this ban inches closer to the governor’s desk, it is becoming increasingly clear just how many of our lives anti-abortion lawmakers are willing to endanger in service to their agenda.”
Bella Carpentier covers the South Carolina legislature, state, and Greenville County politics. Contact her at bcarpentier@gannett.com
BARNWELL, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) – An officer was injured, and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) has issued a Blue Alert for an “armed and dangerous” woman.
According to the Blue Alert, Cushman is wanted in connection with an officer being injured.
The location of the assault was Gardenia Road in Blackville, S.C.
On Monday night around 10:35 p.m., officials said they were looking for Lacey Cushman, 37, a white woman who is 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs about 210 pounds.
According to SLED, she has brown eyes and an unknown hair color. Her hairstyle and clothing are unknown.
She was last seen driving a 2011 white Chevrolet Traverse with an S.C. tag, 706IRU, in Barnwell County.
Her last known direction of travel was toward Bamberg County.
If you see her or have information, call 911 immediately.
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