South Carolina Public Radio's Luis-Alfredo Garcia asks reporter Scott Morgan about a movement among some state GOP voters to write in U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman's name on General Election ballots instead of selecting nominee U.S. Sen. Darline Graham's name.
TRANSCRIPT
LUIS-ALFREDO GARCIA, HOST: This is South Carolina Public Radio, I'm Luis-Alfredo Garcia. With about a week and a half until the Nov. 3 General Election, there's been talks of a rift in the Republican Party that's sort of bubbled to the surface. A lot of it has centered around one person — 5th District Congressman Ralph Norman. Scott Morgan has been looking into a movement to write in Norman on the Republican Senate ticket in place of Republican nominee U.S. Sen. Darline Graham, who with the backing of President Donald Trump, defeated Norman to get the party's nomination.
Scott, how has Congressman Norman stayed a factor in this election, even if he's not going to be on the Nov. 3 ballot?
SCOTT MORGAN: Yeah, that's become very interesting. I mean, Congressman Norman didn't run for his 5th District Congress seat this time, which all eyes really would say he absolutely would have won. But by removing himself from that race, he's kind of become this kind of Zelig character, where he's sort of influencing the election without necessarily being part of it, and the implications for the Republican Party potentially actually have some consequence here because — like I said — he left open a seat he would have won, and then he ran for governor, which he obviously did not get the nomination. That was Alan Wilson.
And then when Sen. Lindsey Graham died, Congressman Norman ran for that seat and lost to Darline Graham. A lot of conservatives in the state — as I've been talking to them — there's signs of some discord because Darline Graham has not really been their candidate. What she represents to a lot of conservatives in the state is an establishment, and a lot of Trump influence that wasn't really truly reflective of Republican politics in South Carolina. And in a narrow race against Democrat Annie Andrews, that could prove consequential.
GARCIA: And then there's a state Senate seat that you've also been following with Wes Climer. What's that been like?
MORGAN: Well, that's the thing. With Ralph Norman not going after his seat in the 5th District, state Sen. Wes Climer is now the Republican candidate for that. And that has opened up Wes Climer's state Senate seat.
The race has come down to James Burns, who is a Republican, and he owns a Chevy dealership up here in Rock Hill. He has no political background. And then there's Chad Williams, who's the Democrat, and Chad Williams used to be on the York County council. So, he's a known commodity, he's actually very popular and he's one of those guys who people who aren't even on his side politically really like him.
So, he's got a lot of name recognition. He's got some history here, and he's got the nice-guy factor. Whereas James Burns has the backing of his own wealth and also the Ralph Norman support, which is a lot of wealth. But despite the monetary disadvantage that Chad Williams has, if there is one race that people up here actually think could go the Democrats' way, it is that particular seat. So, when I say that things are consequential, there's a narrow U.S. Senate race that could be influenced by this write-in Ralph campaign, but there's also this state Senate seat that has the opening to go blue because Wes Climer is going for Ralph Norman's seat because Ralph Norman didn't run for that seat.
GARCIA: And when you say people, is that voters? Is that head of political parties? Who's suspecting that this could flip?
MORGAN: It's both. I mean, the heads of the political parties I've talked to — a couple of GOP heads around the Upstate — they're a little concerned about that. Obviously, they're not really saying, "We think Chad Williams could win," but they're aware of him. A lot of local voters have been talking about that. Particularly, local Democrats here are actually very excited about Williams' chances.
GARCIA: OK, so let's move on now to the actual write-in Ralph campaign. What have you been hearing? What's the background on that? And is it more than just something you're seeing online? Is it having actual traction as you're talking out there to people?
MORGAN: Well, it's hard to say what kind of traction it is. I mean, the guy who started it is a guy named Avery Milton out in the Greenville area. As he put it, $10 and a website is where he started. But he has been seeing a lot of people logging on, checking it out, seeing what's going on. And the Upstate actually is very supportive of Ralph Norman. If you break down that Senate race in particular against Darline Graham, Ralph Norman won York County by a huge percentage, and a lot of the Upstate went his way. I mean, the race really came down to Horry County.
The Upstate is actually very much on the side of Ralph Norman. He's very popular among conservatives here. The other day, I talked with Avery, and he said the big problem with Darline Graham is that she doesn't seem to be talking about South Carolina politics. She keeps talking about national issues, and so a lot of people on the right, in particular in the Upstate, are increasingly saying while they feel bad for Darline Graham — they feel like she's kind of been shoved into a spotlight that she didn't really ask for. She doesn't represent the kind of reform for GOP politics that Ralph Norman actually represents.
So, these are folks — Avery's told me this and other Republicans I've talked to have told me — they feel like Darline Graham was sort of a selection and Donald Trump put his thumb on the scale. And that she's not really right for South Carolina. And considering how much of a very conservative voter base is in the Upstate, that could have some real effect on the election.
GARCIA: U.S. Senator Darline Graham was at a rally with President Donald Trump this week in the Upstate. There were a lot of candidates who are going to be on the Nov. 3 ballot. But what does this write-in Ralph campaign sort of say about the larger state GOP picture and people who haven't committed to voting for Darline Graham?
MORGAN: And that obviously seems to count for Ralph Norman's own family, right? He said this the other day on a podcast that his family is not going to be voting for Darline Graham even if he says he will — because he already said he will — and he wants to live up to his word.
But from folks I've been talking to — I was actually just talking to Barry Sanders, who is the head of the Oconee County Republican Party — there is a lot of concern that there is sort of a time bomb under where the Republican Party is right now because there are people who want to move on, and there are people want to continue where things are. And Sanders kind of likens this whole thing to a couple that's been separated, not necessarily divorced, but separated, where one partner is kind of looking to move on, and going on with their lives and try something new. Where the other is trying to keep things as they are.
He worries that the sort of establishment Republican is ignoring this kind of "we want a different Republicanism" that's sort of a post-Trumpism. And Ralph Norman has really represented that, particularly in the Upstate, has really represented that for a lot of conservatives. And so, Sanders was saying if the GOP doesn't get its house in order, it could spell a lot of trouble on Nov. 3. Where you have a fractured party, or at least a party that could be fracturing, against a very motivated, clearly turning out for the early election, unified party in the Democrats.
GARCIA: That was Scott Morgan talking to us about a potential write-in movement that some members of the state GOP have been talking about as the Nov. 3 election nears. He'll have an in-depth story on this next week on South Carolina Public Radio, and to listen to this full conversation, you can go to southcarolinapublicradio.org
This is South Carolina Public Radio, I'm Luis-Alfredo Garcia.
