|
Courson said two elements have helped to make the primary a success: It's always been the first in the South and has always been held on a Saturday, which party leaders knew would bring conservative Democrats to the polls. "We had to be the first-in-the-South primary. If any other Southern large state, like Texas or Florida, were before us, we would not see the candidates," he said. What is lost with all the candidates trooping through is that the primary also helped build the modern Republican Party in South Carolina. Until 2008, the party ran the primary using volunteers. Now it's the job of the State Election Commission. Getting volunteers involved was central to building the GOP. "If you start working with the party and working at the polls and organizing the primary, that gives you the stimulus to be a real party," Edwards said. Much of the proof is in the office-holding. In 1980, when the GOP presidential primary was established, only 23 of the 170 South Carolina state lawmakers and one of the nine statewide office-holders were Republican. Today, there are 103 GOP lawmakers and the party holds all nine statewide offices.
[Associated
Press;
Copyright 2012 The Associated
Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
News | Sports | Business | Rural Review | Teaching & Learning | Home and Family | Tourism | Obituaries
Community |
Perspectives
|
Law & Courts |
Leisure Time
|
Spiritual Life |
Health & Fitness |
Teen Scene
Calendar
|
Letters to the Editor