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by WILL FOLKS
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South Carolina’s Republican Party chairman Drew McKissick has had a difficult go of things in 2025. For starters, he basically had to rig the party’s convention in May to ensure his reelection as chairman – the latest in a long line of heavy-handed moves which have enraged activists.
Things got worse for McKissick last month when he attempted to install his staunch ally, former party chairman Chad Connelly, as one of the Palmetto State’s three representatives to the Republican National Committee (RNC).
Typically, the party chairman’s choice is rubber-stamped in these insider elections – but not this time. After the administration of Donald Trump put its finger on the scale, Richland County GOP chairman Tyson Grinstead narrowly defeated Connelly to win the position – delivering a stunning rebuke of McKissick’s influence.
McKissick clearly does not speak for the SCGOP any longer… and his hold on the chairmanship of the state party has become tenuous, at best.
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That’s all well and good, as far as we are concerned. McKissick, after all, is the party official who five years ago launched the SCGOP’s unprecedented meddling in partisan primaries on behalf of fiscally liberal GOP establishment candidates – hoping to quell the growing momentum of the conservative movement and limit its influence in state government.
This week, McKissick stepped in it again – alienating broad swaths of the party with a party-subsidized text message barrage criticizing bipartisan gambling legislation.
According to the missive – which was reportedly paid for with party funds – “gambling preys on the most vulnerable in our communities, leading to addiction, broken families and financial ruin.”
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“South Carolina should not open the door to predatory schemes that exploit our citizens and would gamble away our future,” the message noted, calling on South Carolina Republicans to “stand firm to protect our families, safeguard our communities, and preserve the values that make South Carolina strong.”
Really… predatory schemes? Gambling away our future?
What about the dubiously managed S.C. “Education” Lottery? This government-run racket – a definitional “predatory scheme” that predominantly ensnares poor and middle class South Carolinians – took in $2.38 billion during the 2023-2024 fiscal year. You don’t hear McKissick or his Republican allies voicing so much as a syllable of criticism against its continued operation, though.
Seriously… the SCGOP enjoys supermajorities in both chambers of the S.C. General Assembly. The governor, Henry McMaster, also purports to be an avowed gambling opponent. If Republicans’ real intentions on gambling matched their rhetoric, the lottery would end tomorrow.
State lawmakers love to rail sanctimoniously against the evils of this “vice,” but the reality is… they don’t want the competition.
They’re not alone in their hypocrisy. Many of the evangelical leaders who breathlessly beat their chests on the ills of casino gambling or online sports betting are affiliated with religious institutions which receive millions of dollars in lottery proceeds.
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They don’t oppose gambling on moral grounds, either. If they did, they would refuse to accept lottery money. They oppose private sector gaming because ending the state’s monopoly threatens their revenue stream.
McKissick’s missive also ignores the fact that Trump himself previously owned multiple casinos in Atlantic City. How are we to interpret it, then? Does the party chairman – who typically speaks only servile submission to the administration – believe Trump is a “predator?”
Also curious is the fact McKissick’s anti-gambling missive was launched on the GOP’s WinRed fundraising platform – with one disclaimer noting the message was “paid for by the South Carolina Republican Party” and another insisting it was “paid for by WinRed.”
Which is it? And more importantly, which special interests conveniently filled the SCGOP’s coffers in connection with this sudden anti-gaming push?
Polling shows most South Carolinians support expanded gambling, with 59.2% backing casino gaming and 52% supporting sports betting.
Is this really the hill McKissick wants to die on? Also, is this really the time to be dying on it?
At a moment of unprecedented social unrest, rising economic uncertainty and peak special interest exploitation, is this sort of missive really what the SCGOP should be spending its money on?
FITSNews has repeatedly argued in favor of the decriminalization of gambling in the Palmetto State, arguing “these two-faced elected officials are depriving the state of a much larger influx of cash and jobs” by clinging to their hypocritical opposition to private sector competition.
Keep it tuned to our news outlet as we continue to track this ongoing debate… calling out those like McKissick whose deeds do not match their rhetoric.
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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 eight children.
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4 comments
I either vote Republican or leave the office blank if I have to do so. I won’t vote for a Democrat regardless. BUT, Fiscally Conservative is not a word I would use to describe the State House Republicans. Certainly there are some who are fiscally conservative, but that is the minority. McKissick acts as if he has been elected by the people to set policy. He runs the Republican Party as his fiefdom installing his supporters at every level he can. We need new blood in the State House and in the Party if we wish to move forward with new ideas and agendas. The lack of term limits means you can rise to the top of leadership by breathing in and out and getting re-elected repeatedly. The working man can’t afford to run for office and the incumbents get all the special interests money. Time for a change, but that is highly unlikely.
A lottery that took place 2000 or so years go as reported in Matthew 27:
And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.
Frankly, those are substantial arguments in favor of gambling that do not ring hollow. Truth- the state has been involved in gambling since the introduction of the state lottery decades ago. Truth- the lottery has offset tuition costs for students; however, did institutions eventually raise tuition to increase the coffers? Truth- no Freedumb Caucus member or extreme conservative has introduced a law to stop the state lottery because of the amount of money involved. It’s only a moral argument from the Freedumb Caucus when they can withstand the pressure of students and parents who benefit. They can’t. Looking forward to their excuses. I’ll bet that little Cromer girl from Greenville will file a bill to end the state lottery once she reads this article. She loves to find a tasty bone to throw out for personal gain. If you allow illegal immigrants to gamble though, she may not raise a flag because her employees can participate. Ol’ Rutherford is going to end up winning this battle. Watch! When the public thinks they can eliminate taxes because of gambling, done. The numbers are growing.
Putting casinos on I-95 would not only bring in millions of dollars in sorely needed tax dollars, it would also create multiple jobs for South Carolinians. As it stands now, those Yankees going up and down I-95 to and from Florida stop mainly in SC to buy our cheap gas and use our free restrooms. But it is good to hear Republicans talking about “family” and ‘values.” What is a very hard to understand is that they would wholeheartedly support a President whose personal life has exhibited little regard for either, and who once owned gambling casinos himself.