BANNER LOOMS LARGE IN ELECTION TO FILL VACANT SEAT …
|| By FITSNEWS || The Confederate flag has been taken down … but its shadow still looms large over the 2016 election cycle in South Carolina.
The contentious debate associated with the controversial banner‘s furling has spawned all sorts of internal strife inside the S.C. General Assembly – and could spell electoral defeat for as many as two dozen lawmakers next year.
In fact the flag is already playing a role in a runoff election for an open S.C. House seat.
Back in May, S.C. Rep. Nelson Hardwick of Horry County resigned his office in the aftermath of sexual harassment allegations. Hardwick later tried to rescind his resignation, but it was too late.
He also initially threatened to campaign for his vacated seat – prompting House leaders to vow not to seat him in the event he won.
Earlier this week two candidates – local attorney and GOP executive committeeman Russell Fry and Horry County councilman Tyler Servant – emerged from a GOP primary election for the S.C. House District 106 seat vacated by Hardwick’s resignation.
No Democrats filed for the seat – which represents the Surfside Beach and Garden City regions of the Palmetto State coast.
That means an August 11 runoff election will all but assuredly determine who wins the seat.
Fry and Servant have staked out different positions on the flag – and those positions are beginning to impact the dynamics of the race. For example, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham‘s former field representative – Susan Chapman of Conway – has endorsed Servant over Fry.
How come? Because during a recent debate, Fry stated he would have voted to take the flag down whereas Servant said he would have voted for a statewide referendum on the disposition of the banner.
“I received a call today from Tyler Servant asking that I endorse him,” Chapman wrote. “I said yes. As you may know I donated and supported Russell in the previous election. However I was disappointed on his position on the flag issue. I felt that this was an issue that South Carolinians should decide and Tyler is also of that opinion.”
As Chapman’s comments indicate, the flag issue could make Servant – who received 33 percent of the vote compared to Fry’s 45 percent in this week’s primary election – a more palatable choice for some GOP primary voters (which could matter in what is expected to be a low-turnout race).
Will it be enough for him to make up a twelve-point gap in such a short period of time?
We’ll have to see … but if Servant, the scion of a wealthy local real estate family, is able to leapfrog Fry in a runoff election thanks in part to his position on the flag, expect supporters of the banner to become exceedingly aggressive in the 2016 primaries.
30 comments
Look at the tits on the Michelin man Fry has his arms around.
Fantastic!
Oh yes she is sure is fantastic and nothing manish about her.
No shit!!!! If those puppies had helium she’d float. She’s perfect for Vintage cars, she comes with her own airbags. If that’s his wife, he’s an idiot for running. Just stay home, and soap them up.
For goodness sakes, why do people want to continue on with the flag stuff.
it is down. Move on
Exactly.
Did you ask those who wanted it to come down for the last 50 years to move on and forget it about it also? Hypocritical much?
I say we take all this race business to its logical end. Two questions will settle it all.
1. Has either candidate slept with a black woman. If answer yes, move ahead you enlightened god. If no, move back you racist fool.
2. If yes too number one, then: have you slept with a black man? If yes, move ahead you are an enlightened god. If no, move back you racist homophobic fool.
The race/gay police are running this country now. Get used to it. Sleep with a black man and woman at same time, take a photo, and you can go all the way to the White House.
Success is simple if you just follow the rules.
I like white guys.Big,hairy,white guys.
Looks like I’m moving ahead as an enlightened god!
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Yeah, you do love the BBC!
For too long in South Carolina supporting that racist flag was you ticket to success Anyone who suggested taking down the flag was toast. Those where the old rules in South Carolina.
What does lying about your lineage get you?
I don’t have a dog in this particular fight, but I would really like to see this flag flap result in the ouster of a lot of Legislators who have really stayed in office far beyond any usefulness they may have ever had.
of course Tyler Servant would say ‘let the people decide’ since Robert Cahaly, his campaign consultant with neo-Confederate business names like Bonnie Blue Public Relations would be in favor of keeping his crony campaign consultant in business. ‘Let the people decide’ is code word for ‘keep the flag up.’
Susan Chapman is another one of Boz Martin’s cousins. They argue about the flag issue constantly on the Horry GOP groups and most of us tune them both out. The arguments are circular and go nowhere. Susan has also expressed her deep disappointment in Lindsey Graham’s position on the flag. Boz has most of his family mad at him about where he stands on it. Hard to believe this is still such a big deal for anybody.
Distant relative. Maybe a cousin, not sure. I respect Susan. We disagree vehemently on some issues, that’s all. That one, especially.
Every family has to have a real scum bag. So sorry Susan.
LMAO!!! Nice post Boz.
Idiot pogo. You don’t know dick-all about shit.
y’all know that legally, it was impossible for the people to vote on whether or not to remove the flag, thanks to the provisions signed into the Heritage Act of 2000, right?
Y’all, especially Tyler Servant, look uneducated in Hore-e County. Read a f-ing book, or better yet, the SC Code of Laws.
Sounds like Susan Chapman is stirring up trouble… as usual. Go on and tell everyone how much you love Lindsey Grahamnesty… yada yada yada.
It’ll take more than the difference between Servant’s pussy copout “I won’t make a decision – let the voters decide” stance and Fry’s mainstream “time to move it” position. Besides, didn’t the initial compromise bar that type of resolution? I think most people (especially voters) have kinda moved on. I could be wrong, but I think it would be interesting to tie Servant up in all the McConnell-style Confederate nitwittery his handler is into. I keep hearing these rumors, too, that residency may become an issue for boy wonder next week. That could be even more interesting, even as it would apply to his continuing eligibility for the County Council seat his dad just bought.
I know Russell and his wife. they’re both full of shit from the CSOL in Charleston. We don’t need another dumb wannabe GOP in state govt. Conservative my ass, Russell is a democrat
Sounds like Fry is yet another one of those go along, stick your finger in the wind to see which way it’s blowing, get along republicans. And of course he’s a lawyer too. I wonder if he will do the bidding of the liberals at MSNBC and CNN when they want to take prayer and the bibles out of the State House too? What a courageous man he must be. It’s no surprise he moved up so quickly in the Republican Party.
Have y’all even seen the debate?
http://youtu.be/Apf76keKX3s
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I wonder if our state’s legislators thought through the coincidences of their actions in voting to remove the flag.
We need a self thinker in House seat 106 and Russell Fry is not it. He has stated numerous times that he would follow the governor. Did he follow Will and Tom between the sheets with her too.
When Fry gets fried and I-Lie-To-Cons-Joe Wilson has cried the voters WILL be winning
Because what I-Lie-Joe and Haley don’t know is…this IS just the very…beginning !!!
So Fry says he will be a legislator and make a decision and Servant says he will “punt” on his duties and have the people hold a costly referendum to vote on whether to take down a flag that was put up by the General Assembly, NOT the people.
I don’t know either of them, but the reason we elect these people is so that WE don’t have to make all these decisions. I would vote FRY simply for that reason alone.