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With so-called “Republican” candidates in South Carolina kicking off their 2026 election campaigns, there’s a word we’re going to start hearing again ad nauseam on the campaign trail across the state: “conservative.”
In an ostensibly bright red state – one in which the GOP controls every statewide office and enjoys supermajorities in both chambers of its all-powerful legislative branch – one would think this “conservative” label applied to most, if not all, elected Republicans.
The problem? It applies to hardly any of them…
The GOP in the Palmetto State is basically a rechristened version of the white Democrat establishment which ran the state (into the ground) during the latter half of the twentieth century. In its first quarter century running the show, the SCGOP has grown government faster than Democrats dared to dream, exploded crony capitalism and kowtowed to entrenched establishment interests.
The results of these policies? A shrinking workforce, anemic income growth, academic stagnation, crumbling infrastructure and rampant institutional corruption.
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Standing against this failed status quo is American Action Fund, a national pro-liberty group which is seeking to advance “critical issues of liberty, limited government, and constitutional principles” in numerous states – including South Carolina.
According to its website, the pro-freedom, pro-free market group “focuses its efforts to pass liberty legislation in states where transformational policy victories are possible.”
“Over time, these victories will enable the states AAF targets to become Liberty Lighthouse States – beacons of liberty that create domino effects of freedom into other states,” the group noted.
As a key component of its effort, the group “mobilizes everyday citizens at the grassroots level to ensure (their) voice is heard in the state capital.”
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RELATED | RED STATE, BLUE VOTES?
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“Over the past five years, we have been committed to winning on principle,” the group noted. “Since 2018, we have passed 522 pro-liberty bills and counting, and plan to pass 2,500 pro-liberty bills by 2030.”
This week, AAF released its 2025 scorecard for South Carolina’s ostensibly “Republican” General Assembly. According to the group, its ratings (.pdf) reflect a “commitment to restoring limited government, protecting individual liberty, and advancing policies that uphold the founding principles of the United States.”
AAF scored state lawmakers in the following five areas:
- Education: We support school choice and parental rights while opposing bureaucratic control and ideological indoctrination in classrooms.
- Economy: We defend free market capitalism and oppose tax hikes, overregulation, and socialist economic policies.
- Healthcare: We support restoring patient and doctor freedom and reject government-run healthcare schemes.
- Civil Liberties: We stand for individual rights and constitutional protections against government overreach.
- Constitutional Government: We support shrinking government, cutting spending, and restoring power to the people—not the bureaucracy.
How did the so-called GOP “supermajority” fare on the ratings? Absolutely atrociously…
On the 31 key votes AAF scored, the average Republican Caucus member in the S.C. House of Representatives rated an abysmal 24.03% — falling behind the average Democrat caucus score of 25.82%.
“Instead of advancing long promised tax reforms like income tax repeal, the establishment pushed through legislation that raises income taxes on 25% of South Carolinians—a complete betrayal of conservative economic principles,” the report noted.
Of the 124 members of the House, only three lawmakers – Stephen Frank, Rob Harris and Jordan Pace – scored 100% on the report card, although several other members of the conservative S.C. Freedom Caucus rated at 90% or higher. S.C. House speaker Murrell Smith – the leader of the “Republican” majority – scored an embarrassing 13.33% while powerful S.C. judiciary committee chairman Weston Newton and ways and means chairman Bruce Bannister fared only slightly better, scoring 16.67% and 18.52%, respectively.
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AAF referred to Smith’s ranking as “pathetic,” calling him “the ringleader of the establishment opposition to pro-liberty reforms.”
“The divide between true conservative leadership and establishment complacency has grown even more pronounced,” AAF noted in its assessment of the House. “Once again the votes of several RINO legislators made it clear they did not represent the conservative values of their constituents.”
In the S.C. Senate, things were only marginally better. Only one senator – Wes Climer of York County – scored higher than 60%. Meanwhile, senator Josh Kimbrell – who just announced his campaign for governor of the Palmetto State – scored a lowly 38.1%. Several newly elected “Republican” freshmen also posted subpar scores, including Jason Elliott (22.73%) Roger Nutt (28.57%), JD Chaplin (30%), Carlisle Kennedy (31.58%), Everett Stubbs (35%) Jeff Zell (36.36%) and Matt Leber (39.13%).
As for veteran lawmakers, AAF singled out longtime fiscal liberal and “former” Democrat Luke Rankin for his “pitiful” 23.53% score.
“Rankin continues to chair the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee, where he uses his position to kill conservative legislation and protect the bureaucracy,” the group noted.
Once again, South Carolina is proving it is nothing but a blue-voting “red state.” Republicans have talked the talk on the campaign trail, but when it comes to actually taking principled stands on behalf of their stated limited government ideology – their principles evaporate and are replaced by political expediency.
While many of the “conservative” lawmakers who received low marks on this survey will doubtless complain their votes were cherrypicked, it’s worth noting this isn’t the only indicator of their leftward lurch. Everywhere you look in South Carolina, “Republicans” are decidedly not conservative.
How did your lawmaker fare on the report card? Take a look…
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THE SCORECARD…
(American Action Fund)
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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5 comments
Yet when questioned lawmakers continually claim they don’t work for special interests or try top get good scores by groups looking our for taxpayers. It is very apparent the current crop of RINOs do not work for the taxpayers of this state and all their claims of conservatism is merely lies
Talk is cheap. and most “pro liberty” “pro-freedom” groups are anything but.
Anyone remember the Hitler-loving Moms For Liberty?
Fun Orwellian times we are in.
This is really surprising. It’s almost like you could just run on abortion and “Christian” values (neither of which are particularly useful in government) and just get elected, regardless of whether you actually accomplish anything.
But my God, DO NOT write about that. The people that pay for stories here would definitely not like that.
Seriously? So, they literally propose amendments to bills that are not the same subject just to get real republicans on the record for voting no. Sure, that is a great way to spend taxpayer dollars. Let’s just waste the time of the people by setting up votes that don’t matter or make sense so we can use them in an election. And, AAF who was led by RJ May in SC and the Freedumb Caucus savior, then gets to pick the votes that look the worst and create a scorecard. Pick your flavor. Time to expose ALL OF THE FRAUD.
The corruption isn’t mostly in the politicians but it is in Scorecard Groups and the media who all use it to make money. Right?
Joshua Kendrick, preach it!