FMR. SC HOUSE SPEAKER TO LEAD PARTY’S HALF OF ‘MILIKEN MATCH’ CAMPAIGN

Fresh off his four year stint as Ambassador to Canada, former South Carolina House Speaker David Wilkins is getting back into state politics.

The State Republican Party said Thursday that Wilkins will chair the fundraising efforts for their recently-launched “Milliken Match” drive which is aimed at paying off all of the mortgage debt held by the SCGOP, and to make sustainability upgrades to their Columbia headquarters.

Chairman Karen Floyd said Wilkins agreed to lead the effort, which was announced last week as a dollar-for-dollar matching donation between the SCGOP and Upstate textile magnate Roger Milliken.

“Like Milliken, Wilkins is one of the true giants of the Republican Party in South Carolina,” Floyd said. “His leadership and integrity have been invaluable to our state through the years, and his involvement in this effort will be equally invaluable over the next several months.”

Milliken agreed to pay half of the Party’s mortgage, so long as the other half could be raised by the party.

At the announcement, Floyd said the party is using the opportunity to upgrade the facility to green building standards, also known as LEED standards — which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design — a concept introduced to the party by Milliken.

All told, the goal of the fundraising drive is $500,000 – including Milliken’s portion – to be raised by Dec. 7.

“Roger Milliken has been an icon in Republican Party for decades, and his leadership and vision for the Party Headquarters are to be commended,” Wilkins said. “I’m incredibly pleased to be part of this effort, and look forward to the challenge of helping meet this ambitious fundraising goal.”

Wilkins announced in February that he would be joining the Columbia-based law firm Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough.