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by WILL FOLKS
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A fifth-term white Democrat from Mullins, South Carolina has switched parties – filing paperwork to run for a sixth term at the S.C. State House as a Republican.
Lucas Atkinson officially pulled the switcheroo at 12:30 p.m. EDT on Friday (March 27, 2026) – three days before the close of the candidate filing period for the upcoming partisan primary elections.
“I affiliate with the Republican Party,” Atkinson wrote on a party pledge which was included on his formal statement of candidacy (.pdf).
Atkinson has represented S.C. House District 57 (.pdf) – a heavily gerrymandered district including parts of Horry, Marion and Williamsburg counties – since 2016. He won his most recent reelection in 2024 with 58.61% of the vote over Republican candidate Kevin Taylor Coleridge.
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Atkinson announced earlier this month that he was running for reelection – although he did not specify which party’s nomination he would seek.
“To my friends, neighbors and supporters of District 57 — serving you is the greatest honor of my life,” he wrote on social media last Monday (March 16, 2026). “I’m grateful to announce I will seek re-election for your continued support in 2026.”
Atkinson will face a familiar opponent in the November general election. Cynthia O. Ford, a veteran and self-styled “community leader,” ran against him in the Democrat primary in June 2024. Atkinson prevailed in that race, receiving 3,035 votes (or 55.75% of all ballots cast) compared to Ford’s 2,409 votes (or 44.25% of all ballots cast).
Ford submitted her paperwork to run as a Democrat on Thursday (March 26, 2026).
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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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4 comments
But how do these “converted” Democrats vote? Like Republicans are supposed to, or like Democrats?
Will they support restoration and keeping our Second Amendment rights, or will they vote against them when it matters most, like a Trump, Graham, Murkowski, or Jay Lucas, would?
“State representative Lucas Atkinson now identifies as a Republican…”
So does she identify as a Republican or a “Republican” per this blahg’s style?
I do not care what party you affiliate with how about work for the constituents that put you in office…..
At this point in history, the Republican Party is morally and thoroughly bankrupted. Anyone electing to sign on to such a failed and broken party must not ever have had a core of centered values. In fact, they may prove to be more bankrupted, because they may try to prove their worthiness to be part of something that is so low.