Expect there to be a few fireworks at tomorrow’s State Republican Convention in Columbia. The tip line has been ablaze with rumors that Terry Sullivan, the campaign manager for presidential candidate Mitt Romney (R-Mass.) in South Carolina, is hurriedly calling allies to oppose the re-election of state party chair Katon Dawson.

Apparently, Sullivan is trying to a field a candidate to run against Dawson in tomorrow’s election. By all accounts, Dawson has done a tremendous job as chairman and is deservedly running unopposed.

So why would Romney’s state campaign manager try to organize an effort to overthrow a sitting state party chair? Well, one tip led us to a June 2006 article from The State in which Sullivan – then the campaign manager for state treasurer candidate Greg Ryberg – called Dawson “an idiot.” The response came after Dawson tried to help settle a very brutal state treasurer primary.

One candidate said he’s getting out, another might be getting in, and the race for the Republican state treasurer’s nomination suddenly got ugly.

…

As the parry-and-thrust routine continued through the afternoon, S.C. Republican Party chairman Katon Dawson released a statement urging Quinn and Willis to drop out in the “interest of party unity.”

In response, Sullivan said, “Katon is an idiot.” (”Treasurer primary leads to brouhaha,” June 15, 2006, AARON GOULD SHEININ, The State)