South Carolina GOP Civil War: Interview With April Cromer

It’s been nearly two years since we first heard the name April Cromer. At the time, the Upstate businesswoman was a candidate for the South Carolina House of Representatives – challenging former ways and means chairman Brian White for S.C. House District 6, a seat the veteran “Republican” had held for twenty years.

Cromer, 45, of Anderson, S.C. told us at the time she was a “behind the scenes type person,” but one who could also be “outspoken” if she needed to be. After defeating White in the spring of 2022 – and cruising to election that fall – Cromer has spent her first year in office demonstrating she has full command of both of those gears.

An auditor with her family business, the devout mother of two has emerged as a key player in the S.C. Freedom Caucus, a group of conservative state lawmakers who have drawn the ire (and the fire) of “Republican” leaders by calling out their left-of-center voting records.

While some Freedom Caucus members have taken highly visible roles on key issues like judicial reform and tort reform, Cromer has been quietly working behind the scenes to help shape the caucus’ policy priorities – and to find candidates willing to run for the legislature so they can bolster their ranks.

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She hasn’t stayed completely in the background, though. Last summer, Cromer was among the most outspoken conservative lawmakers on the issue of abortion – vowing to push for a more aggressive ban of this practice than the one lawmakers approved in 2023.

Cromer is also leading the legislative push to remove porn propaganda from South Carolina’s government-run schools – an effort which is being pushed at the executive, regulatory level by S.C. superintendent of education Ellen Weaver.

From the first time we covered her as a candidate to her emergence as a conservative leader in the legislature, I’ve been impressed by Cromer’s intelligence and independence – so I was grateful when she agreed to sit down with me for an interview ahead of this year’s session of the S.C. General Assembly.

Here is that conversation …

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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 and before that he was a bass guitarist and dive bar bouncer. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven (soon to be eight) children.

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