Dear Friends,

The 2012 primaries are in the books. Six of the eight candidates we endorsed won their races last night, and a ninth candidate we opposed – Senator David Thomas in Greenville – came in third. That means he didn’t even make the runoff for the seat he has held since 1985.

Senate Races

Senator Kevin Bryant easily won last night, getting 76% in the Senate District 3 primary. Senator Bryant has been a Taxpayer Hero since he was elected. We are excited to have four more years of his conservative voice in the legislature since is unopposed this fall.

Challenger Riley Harvell fought a tough battle against longtime incumbent Senator Billy O’Dell and ended up short with only 42% of the vote. We are hopeful that O’Dell will remember how well we publicized some of his bad votes and consider retiring after this new term.

Representative Tom Corbin won his race for the open senate seat vacated by retiring Senator Phil Shoopman.  Rep. Corbin has scored well on our scorecard and we look forward to him being a strong asset to the fiscal conservative caucus in the Senate.

In the biggest shocker of the night, Senator Lee Bright handily beat trial lawyer and former Senator John Hawkins in the Spartanburg/Greenville primary. As of two weeks ago, polls showed Senator Bright losing by 10 points. We sent out mail about Hawkins abysmal record and put together a phone bank to help close the gap. Over the weekend, Governor Haley also came to Senator Bright’s aid with her endorsement and a Monday campaign appearance.  Our combined efforts put Senator Bright well over the top with a result no one was expecting – a 20 point victory.

Deedee Vaughters – the wife of Dr. Bauer Vaughters – our former Board Chairman – won the Senate District 26 Republican primary. She will now go on to face the 35 year liberal incumbent Senator Nilkki Setzler. This is one of the few real swing districts and we be watching this race closely.

As I already noted Senator David Thomas did not make the runoff. While we did not endorse a candidate in this race, we did produce a short video (click here to watch) showing that Senator Thomas was taking advantage of a perk not offered to any other state employees. Shortly after this video was released three more candidates jumped into the race. Two business men are now in the runoff for this seat, and we will be talking to them again as we decide who to endorse.

House Races

In addition to our win in the Lee Bright race, we won both Spartanburg House races where the PAC was engaged. Challenger Donna Wood defeated Representative Steve Parker, who tried to stop good government legislation at every opportunity. Representative Bill Chumley, whom we supported over a trial lawyer incumbent two years ago, was able to beat his status quo opponent.

Our one House loss was in Dorchester County, where Jordan Bryngleson lost his bid for an open House seat to Ed Carter.

Your donations to our PAC play a crucial role recruiting and electing true fiscal conservatives. Yesterday was a big step forward, but we are not done yet. With the primaries behind us, we are now looking at the runoffs and general election races.  If you have any ideas for potential endorsements please let me know.

Thank you for all your help. I look forward to working with you as the 2012 election cycle progresses.

Best,