Three Republican state lawmakers from the South Carolina Lowcountry have disavowed claims made by former state senator John Kuhn in his bid to become the next chairman of the Charleston County Republican party.
In a page on his campaign website, Kuhn claimed that “some of our strongest Republicans … are begging me to run” for the seat being vacated this year by current county GOP chairman Larry Kobrovsky.
Kuhn then listed S.C. House judiciary chairman Peter McCoy and state senators Sandy Senn and Larry Grooms as being among the elected officials who were “begging” him to seek this post – ostensibly so that the county party “will have the money and the knowledge and the energy to keep our seats and win back the ones we have lost.”
Take a look …
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(Via: Provided)
The only problem? Not only are the three lawmakers referenced by Kuhn not “begging him to run,” it is not immediately clear whether any of the three are even endorsing his candidacy against Lowcountry GOP activist Joe Bowers.
A statement issued by Grooms indicated the use of his name was “unauthorized” and “simply not true.”
“I appreciate the fact that we have qualified candidates offering to serve as party chairman,” Grooms statement noted. “I regret that the unauthorized use of my name has been used by a candidate claiming that I ‘begged’ him to run. This is simply not true.”
Shortly after the reference to McCoy, Senn and Grooms were brought to our attention, Kuhn removed the names of the three politicians from his campaign website.
The amended section of his website now reads as follows …
Some of our strongest Republicans are asking me to run for Chair so that we will have the money and the knowledge and the energy to keep our seats and win back the ones we have lost.
Kuhn, 56, represented S.C. Senate District 43 (map) from 2001-2003. In 2013, he ran unsuccessfully for the Palmetto State’s first congressional district – receiving 6.5 percent of the vote in a 16-candidate field. Bowers, 28, has a lengthy history with various Republican organizations, serving as secretary of the S.C. first congressional district GOP organization, treasurer of the East Cooper Republican Club, administrator of the Carolina Republican Coalition and executive committeeman of the Awendaw precinct for the Charleston County GOP.
As we have previously noted, whoever inherits this position faces an uphill battle. Republicans are on the defensive in Charleston following a shocking upset victory by Democrat Joe Cunningham in the race for the first congressional district last fall. Meanwhile several influential local GOP lawmakers – including McCoy – nearly lost their seats in November.
Furthermore, Republican governor Henry McMaster was thrashed in Charleston County by Democrat James Smith in the 2018 South Carolina gubernatorial race – losing by a 57-42 percent margin.
Developing …
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