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by WILL FOLKS
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The political wing of South Carolina’s largest social conservative advocacy organization issued endorsements for fifty-six (56) purportedly “Republican” members of the S.C. House of Representatives this week.
The Palmetto Family Alliance – the election advocacy arm of the Palmetto Family Council – issued its endorsements on Tuesday (September 15, 2026), seven weeks ahead of the November 3, 2026 general elections in South Carolina.
Among those backed by the group were several key leaders of the ostensibly GOP “supermajority” chamber, including speaker Murrell Smith, new majority leader Micah Caskey, speaker pro tempore Tommy Pope and judiciary chairman Weston Newton. Also receiving endorsements were multiple members of the fiscally conservative S.C. Freedom Caucus – including its chairman Jordan Pace and former vice chair April Cromer.
Arguably the biggest name not to receive the backing of the group? Influential ways and means chairman Bruce Bannister, who represents House District 24 (.pdf) in Greenville County.
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Since taking control of this chamber in the 1994 election cycle, Republicans have steadily padded their advantage over the intervening decades. Following state representative Lucas Atkinson‘s decision to switch parties in March of this year, the GOP has maintained a supermajority of eighty-nine (89) seats in the S.C. House compared to just thirty-five (35) seats for Democrats. The GOP also enjoys supermajority status in the S.C. Senate, with thirty-four (34) seats compared to Democrats twelve (12) seats.
All 124 seats in the S.C. House are up for election on November 3, 2026 – as are South Carolina’s statewide offices (governor/lieutenant governor, attorney general, comptroller general, treasurer, secretary of state, etc). Members of the S.C. Senate will not be on the ballot again until the 2028 election cycle, however.
Given the pernicious national headwinds facing the party in this fall’s election, many believe the GOP is likely to lose a handful of seats come November.
Keep it tuned to FITSNews as we track which lawmakers could be vulnerable…
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THE ENDORSEMENTS…
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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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