Americans For Prosperity Ramping Up Grassroots Efforts In South Carolina

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One of the nation’s most prominent conservative advocacy organizations is gearing up for a big grassroots push in South Carolina – where it has been heavily engaged in policy debates in recent years.

Unlike a lot of advocacy groups parachuting into the Palmetto State for the upcoming ‘First in the South’ presidential primary, Americans for Prosperity (AFP) has had a presence in South Carolina for many years – and has worked over that time to built its grassroots network and expand its influence at the S.C. State House.

Earlier this year, AFP launched a major campaign in support of its bid to repeal South Carolina’s so-called “Certificate of Need” (CON) program, an onerous state mandate which I have previously criticized as “injecting politically driven government bureaucracy into the health care marketplace.”

This Saturday, the group is staging a national “day of action” in Summerville, S.C. – a city of just over 51,000 located approximately 25 miles northwest of Charleston. This event is part of a national effort by the organization to “restore America’s promise with proven principled solutions,” according to a video released by the organization.

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“AFP South Carolina will be hosting its first day of action grassroots training and canvassing effort this Saturday, focused on congressional district one,” state director Candace Carroll said. “This is part of our strategy to engage as many people as possible across the state in all seven congressional districts in the coming months. Each of these one-on-one conversations is critical to identifying the issues that matter most to South Carolinians and will bring them into the fold as we continue to build out our grassroots army and prepare to engage in the 2024 elections.”

More than fifty volunteers have already signed up to participate in the Summerville event, which is aimed at “talking to voters about what issues are top of mind for them as they think ahead to 2024 (inflation, education, health care, taxes, etc.).”

“That number is continuing to grow,” Carroll said.

Carroll said her group will be hosting similar training and canvassing campaigns across the Palmetto State in the coming weeks and that “Saturday is just our kickoff event.”

AFP is making moves in South Carolina and other states as part of a national blueprint for reshaping the current partisan political climate.

"The Republican Party is nominating bad candidates who are advocating for things that go against core American principles - and the American people are rejecting them," AFP's chief executive officer, Emily Seidel, wrote in a memo (.pdf). "The Democratic Party increasingly sees this as a political opportunity. And they’re responding with more and more extreme policies – policies that also go against our core American principles."

"The country is in a downward spiral, with both parties reinforcing the bad behavior of the other," Seidel added.

AFP's answer? Raising participation in partisan primary elections by recruiting "better people" to run for office.

"In 2024, AFP and AFP Action will get engaged in more primaries at every level of office," Seidel wrote.

Seidel's memo also highlighted the importance of early-voting states like South Carolina, noting that "turning out new voters in these early primary states will be critical."

"Bringing more voters’ voices to bear in these primaries will yield better candidates who can win and then pass better policy after they do," Seidel wrote.

We will keep our readers posted on efforts by AFP and other organizations to impact the political marketplace - and the broader marketplace of ideas - here in South Carolina. Also, if your organization has news it wishes to share with our readers, hit me up via email at w@fitsnews.com.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR ...

Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven children.

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