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by WILL FOLKS
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Last August, South Carolina businessman Rom Reddy formally launched DOGE SC’s ‘Palmetto Revolution‘ in Surfside Beach, S.C. Hosting that event was David Hucks, lead journalist for MyrtleBeachSC – a new media outlet on the Palmetto State’s Grand Strand.
Hucks had been a vocal proponent of Reddy and the DOGE SC movement from that moment forward…
This week, though, he filed a report questioning the transitioning of the organization – which had been focused on advancing pro-citizen reforms in the S.C. General Assembly – to the newly minted Reddy for governor campaign.
“Concerns were quickly brought to our news team by the core Horry County group who worked to assist Rom in launching DOGE SC in Surfside Beach,” Hucks wrote. “Key questions raised: Was DOGESC going to continue? Who would manage it, if it did continue?”
Those questions are not unique to Horry County…
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According to Hucks, Reddy told him “DOGESC is now part of the governor’s campaign” – a response which Hucks said “raised even more concerns.”
Reddy’s chief strategist, Wes Donehue, followed up with a clarification.
“DOGESC was a committee,” Donehue told Hucks. “The campaign bought the assets of the committee, which is totally legal.”
Hucks reached out to FITSNews on Wednesday (March 18, 2026) after publishing his story and shared additional concerns regarding the DOGE SC switcheroo – and Reddy’s response to his article. According to emails shared by Hucks, Reddy accused him of being “pushed” to publish the article by a rival gubernatorial campaign.
“David this is BS and you should have checked with us before publishing garbage,” Reddy wrote in an email to Hucks. “We would not do anything illegal. Whose camp is pushing you.”
Reddy sent a second email less than an hour letter telling Hucks to remove him from an email chain related to the discussion.
“I have no interest in hearing from you,” he told the reporter.
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RELATED | GOVERNOR’S DEBATE POISED TO ESCALATE
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According to Hucks, he received a phone call from a Reddy spokesperson shortly thereafter indicating the campaign would be releasing a statement to the effect that “Rom Reddy is DOGE SC and will be our DOGE SC advocate in the governor’s office,” according to Hucks.
“They should have done that from the get-go,” Hucks told us. “I like Reddy. It’s not personal. He hung my rear out to dry by asking me to help him with a movement that ended.”
When FITSNews addressed the Reddy campaign’s forthcoming clarification on social media, Reddy offered a more detailed explanation.
“NOT ONE DOLLAR OF DOGESC funds transferred to the campaign even though 99 percent of the funding was from me,” Reddy wrote in response to our post. “The campaign purchased the social media page from DOGESC and paid actual money after an independent valuation.”
According to Reddy, DOGE SC spent more than $1 million on policy reform including “judicial reform and equal parenting and developing the tools for forensic audits and regulations.” Of that total, Reddy said only $15,000 was donated – half of which came “from personal friends” and the rest from “small dollar donations.”
“Anyone who wants their money back can have it back,” Reddy added.
Given that Reddy’s campaign is not taking contributions – and his erstwhile “movement” received only a pittance from other donors – it seems unlikely there is much in the way of a campaign finance scandal here. Having said that, Reddy’s team will need to more effectively address the scuttling of DOGE SC – which was making legitimate inroads in the policy debate within the powerful S.C. General Assembly – in favor of an even-money campaign for a constitutionally neutered executive office.
How well they do that will ultimately determine how well that campaign performs…
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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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3 comments
Seawall Reddy and SCAM SC. Who could have seen this coming…
So is this another rich guy moving money around just to gain a spot to grift from the taxpayers?
Reddy for Governor Slogan: “Anyone who wants their money back can have it”
Its MY movement that 1) did nothing 2) wasted money 3) couldnt survive outside myrtle beach 4) is widely mocked 5) now discredited…. No its MINE!
Easy boys, there is enough liability and embarrassment for both of you!
I will point out how this makes it harder to pay attention to the fact that Alan Wilson is unfit to be Governor, shames victims, and fails to prosecute criminals.