COLUMBIA — With the backing of former President Donald Trump, South Carolina Republican Party chairman Drew McKissick easily secured reelection for a third two-year term May 15, fending off an eccentric challenge from attorney Lin Wood in a race that grew increasingly combative over the course of a seven-week campaign.
At the state party's biennial convention in Columbia, McKissick won the vast majority of the 861 delegates. Wood outperformed McKissick in two of the most conservative big counties in the state, Greenville and Horry, but struggled to chip into the incumbent's broad base of support elsewhere around the state, falling well short of toppling him overall.
Two other candidates who launched outsider bids, Michael LaPierre and Mark Powell, failed to gain much traction. The final delegate count was 582 for McKissick, 239 for Wood, 27 for LaPierre and 10 for Powell.
In remarks to reporters after the election, McKissick credited his victory to 30 years of working in state Republican politics, calling the party a "small family."
"It's not surprising that someone who has no roots in the state and no contacts within that group of people to speak of doesn't do very well," McKissick said of Wood.
The convention was conducted in a "hybrid" format due to the coronavirus pandemic, with most delegates convening in their home counties to cast their ballots and then designating one person from each county to announce their totals in Columbia.
After Wood gained national notoriety for his unfounded allegations of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election, the Georgia lawyer relocated to the South Carolina Lowcountry this year and swiftly announced his intentions to run against McKissick.
Wood then traveled around the state attacking not just McKissick but a range of top Republican elected officials in South Carolina, including U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham and Gov. Henry McMaster, claiming that they had not done enough to fight for Trump.
He also often devoted substantial portions of his remarks to tackling issues that have little to do with the job of S.C. GOP chairman, like decrying the ills of child sex trafficking.
S.C. GOP chairman Drew McKissick greets supporters after winning reelection at the party's biennial convention on Saturday, May 15, 2021. McKissick beat back a challenge from attorney Lin Wood and two other opponents. Jamie Lovegrove/Staff
But the incumbent enjoyed the crucial support of Trump himself, who endorsed McKissick no fewer than three times — once before Wood entered the race, then again the day after Wood launched his bid, then one final time for good measure on the eve of the convention.
McKissick was also buoyed by the fact that South Carolina Republicans just came off one of their strongest election cycles in modern history.
Graham cruised to reelection in an expensive U.S. Senate race, Nancy Mace won back a Lowcountry congressional seat that the party had lost two years earlier and the the party also flipped five Democratic-held legislative seats to expand their majorities in the Statehouse.
Without directly addressing Wood's candidacy, Trump said in a statement at the end of March that McKissick "has done an outstanding job as South Carolina GOP chairman, electing more Republicans in 2020 than in over 140 years."
"Drew fought all the way to the Supreme Court to defend our voting laws — and WON," Trump said. "He will continue to grow the party and help Conservatives get elected in the Great State of South Carolina."
Wood offered a range of strained explanations for Trump's support of his opponent, suggesting at times that the former president knows to "keep your friends close but your enemies closer" or alternatively contending that Trump is getting "bad advice" from the aides around him.
In posts on the social media app Telegram, Wood preemptively sought to undercut McKissick's victory on the morning of the election.
"Drew is a cheater," Wood wrote. "If he ‘wins’ today, he will be a Fake Chairman just like Biden is a Fake President!"
But McKissick brushed off that allegation, saying the election was held out in the open for everyone to see.
"Given the circumstances, it couldn't be more transparent than that," McKissick said. "If (Wood) wants to make any allegations of cheating or anything of that nature by the folks in this room, I think he won't find a receptive audience."
McKissick first ascended to the chairmanship in 2017 and won his first reelection bid in 2019. On top of his main role seeking to elect more Republicans to office, McKissick will also be tasked with preparing the party to host a high-stakes early presidential primary in 2024.
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May 15, 2021 at 11:00PM
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SC GOP chairman Drew McKissick comfortably wins reelection over challenger Lin Wood - Charleston Post Courier
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