SC RETAINS HISTORIC “FIRST IN THE SOUTH” STATUS

A plan to re-work the Republican presidential primary system and strip early voting states, including South Carolina, of their significance has been thwarted… for now. South Carolina GOP Chairman Katon Dawson has just released word that our state will maintain its coveted First-in-the-South position on the nominating calendar after the Standing Committee on Rules of the Republican National Committee, meeting this week in New Mexico, approved a plan to bring order to the presidential primary calendar.

“Today, I want thank the RNC Rules Committee for recognizing South Carolina’s historically important role in the presidential primary process,” said Dawson. “We are proud to take our place along side the most important presidential primary contests in the country.”

During his tenure as State Republican Chairman, Dawson has made this issue a key part of his agenda. And in 2008, it proved to be a worthwhile accomplishment.

“Senator John McCain won a monumental victory in our primary this year and was propelled to our Party’s nomination for president,” Dawson said. “We are pleased we will continue to play this make-or-break role in presidential politics for years to come.”

Since 1980, no candidate has won the Republican nomination for president without winning South Carolina’s Republican primary. Republicans running for president in 2008 knew South Carolina Republicans pick presidents and focused on the state’s voters this year more than ever.

And that means the next time around, we will hold just as important a place atop the nominating ladder.

So if you like seeing throngs of presidential candidates, pseudo-presidential candidates and even quasi-pseudo-presidential candidates swarm into the Palmetto State every four-to-eight years, then this is music to your ears. If not, then it’s some other figure of speech that means the opposite of music to your ears.