South Carolina Judicial Reform Battle: Rom Reddy Pops Ralph Norman

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by WILL FOLKS

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Lowcountry businessman Rom Reddy – founder of the DOGE SC movement – is brimming with optimism that lawmakers are on the verge of passing significant changes to the way judges are chosen in the Palmetto State.

But while touting the progress of legislation his movement supports, he’s also throwing shade at another reformer whose proposal is – according to him – a bridge too far.

South Carolina is one of only two states in America in which lawmakers elect judges. It’s also the only state in which lawmakers wield exclusive control over which candidates get to apply and run for the bench – a stranglehold which has produced all manner of pernicious outcomes for the state. This control is wielded via a legislatively controlled panel called the Judicial Merit Selection Commission (JMSC) – which screens candidates and advances those it deems to be “qualified.”

The rules of this notoriously secretive committee were modestly tweaked in June of 2024, but efforts are underway this year – led by DOGE SC – to more fundamentally redefine its composition. Reddy’s movement is advancing legislation that would give future governors exclusive control over the JMSC, the existence of which is enshrined in the S.C. Constitution.

Lawmakers would still vote on candidates for the bench, but under the DOGE SC-supported bills (H. 4755 and S. 696) they would be compelled to choose from nominees put forward by the executive branch. Specifically, by the governor.

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Last week, DOGE SC’s proposal cleared the full S.C. House judiciary committee by a 14-7 vote – marking a critical milepost on its way to potential passage.

“The DOGESC sponsored judicial reform bill is well on its way to a full House vote which we expect it to pass,” Reddy wrote on X this weekend. “Then on to the Senate where we may already have the support of as many as 20 senators even though there appears to be resistance from the leadership. We will ask for your help at the right time.”

Reddy is likely referring to “resistance” from S.C. Senate majority leader Shane Massey, who has criticized the bill publicly and accused DOGE SC of having “an agenda.”

While celebrating the progress of the legislation, Reddy pulled no punches in his assessment of others purporting to belong to the reform movement.

“Now that true judicial reform is gaining momentum, I am quite surprised at all the folks coming out of the woodwork to either take credit or make mostly useless suggestions,” he wrote.

“What intrigued me most was watching several politicians propose ‘unique’ solutions without realizing that every one of them would require a constitutional amendment,” Reddy continued. “In South Carolina, achieving a constitutional amendment means getting two thirds of both the House and the Senate to agree to put it on a ballot and then get a majority vote in a referendum. There is no leadership or appetite to achieve this – which is why it becomes the same old tired rhetoric during an election cycle from people who have been in some form of elected office for decades and know better.”

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Article IV of the South Carolina Constitution says the governor is the supreme executive authority in the state. I say – ACT LIKE IT!

Power has been handed to commissions and boards controlled by the legislature.

Even critical agencies like the Department of Transportation are… pic.twitter.com/n3LXzY8CMw

— DOGE SC (@officialdogesc) February 1, 2026

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Reddy in particular chided “one candidate for governor who has been in elected office for most of the last two decades” – a candidate whose platform calls for the public election of “judges at all levels.”

That’s a reference to U.S. congressman Ralph Norman, who has recently come out in support of the public election of judges.

Last fall, Norman expressed his support for the federal model of judicial selection – telling the S.C. Policy Council he favored judicial nominations “by the governor with the advice and consent of the Senate.”

“That’s the fair way,” Norman told the Columbia, S.C.-based think tank last October.

With the 2026 governor’s race heating up, though, Norman has upped the ante – and is advancing a more populist position on the issue of judicial selection.

“I’m not running for governor to accumulate political power,” Norman wrote on X just last week. “I’m running for governor to return power to where it belongs, with the people of South Carolina. I believe that corrupt politicians in Columbia should no longer control who sits on the bench. Other states elect their judges. South Carolina should too. WE THE PEOPLE should decide!”

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RELATED | SENATOR CALLS OUT ‘LEGISLATIVE INFLUENCE’ IN COURT RACE

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Reddy rebuked that proposal – citing the aforementioned constitutional hurdle as well as a more practical problem.

“Elections will also allow judges to take political contributions,” Reddy wrote. “The most powerful political organization in the state is the liberal trial lawyer’s association who will take control of the judicial elections. Is that what we want? (To) turn our judge selection over to a liberal trial lawyer’s association that already has distorted citizen friendly outcomes?”

Norman’s campaign was not immediately available to respond to Reddy’s criticism.

Reddy also took shots at outgoing governor Henry McMaster, a slavishly status quo politician who has drawn criticism from the DOGE SC founder in the past.

“We have our longest serving governor who just said he wants to personally pick all the judges in the state,” Reddy said. “Governor, as you know this would also need a constitutional amendment. Why did you not do this in your ten years in office if you truly believe in it? Is it because you have no chance of success leading on a constitutional amendment as you have not inspired confidence with the rest of your picks that are often described as the ‘lazy choice?'”

“Would it not be nice to have leaders who are focused on action and getting things done instead of these pie in the sky election year concepts they have not been able to achieve in all their years in the swamp?” Reddy concluded.

FITSNews has editorialized for years in favor of reforming South Carolina’s judicial selection process. We supported the 2024 tweaks – and we enthusiastically support DOGE SC’s more comprehensive reform proposal. When it comes to a longer-term solution for picking judges, we have long-argued in favor of a hybrid model – one in which governors appoint judicial nominees, lawmakers confirm them and the public gets to vote on them every two years via an “aye” or “nay” retention election.

Hopefully that is the model South Carolina is trending toward sooner rather than later, because it is abundantly clear the current system – which enables institutional graft, erodes competitiveness, accommodates violent criminals, re-victimizes victims and defies constitutional separation of powers – is unsustainable on multiple fronts.

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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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