story by Mark W. Buyck, III
In our last couple of articles, we have detailed the origins of the modern Republican Party in South Carolina. The State first broke with the national Democratic Party in the Presidential Election of 1948 when it supported native son Strom Thurmond. Eisenhower and Nixon were both competitive in South Carolina in the elections of 1952, 1956, and 1960. By 1964, Senator Strom Thurmond had changed his party allegiance from Democrat to Republican and the State overwhelming supported Republican Barry Goldwater in the 1964 election. On the state level, Republicans were gaining support in urban areas and were successful in electing a Republican Congressman as well as a handful of seats in the State Legislature.
Republicans were also active in the Florence area. In 1964, Republican Louis Hite ran in a special election to fill a vacant seat on the Florence City Council. Hite lost the election; but he set the stage for future Republican candidates. During the 1964 election season, Florence City Councilman Dennis O’Brian switched from the Democrat to the Republican party. O’Brian ran for re-election to a full term in 1965. At the time there were two open seats and the members of the Council ran on a city-wide basis. Three Democrats ran and the two winning the Democratic primary were incumbent Weston Patterson and V. G. Arnette. The Republicans held a city convention and unanimously nominated O’Brian. O’Brian’s support was widespread. Mayor David McLeod publicly endorsed O’Brian and Patterson. On the day before the election, an ad ran in The Florence Morning News supporting Patterson and O’Brian. The ad stated that “Many Democrats on May 4th will vote for Patterson (Democrat) and O’Brian (Republican).” The ad was paid for by “Democrats supporting Dennis D. O’Brian and R. Weston Patterson.” Patterson and O’Brian won the election and for the first time the City of Florence had elected a Republican to a local office.
In 1966, there were two United States Senatorial elections in South Carolina. Strom Thurmond would have to face the voters for the first time since switching parties in 1964. There was also a special election due to the death of Senator Olin Johnston in 1965. Shortly after Johnston’s death, then Governor Donald Russell resigned, whereupon his former Lt. Governor Robert McNair appointed Russell to the Senate. Russell ran for the seat against another former Democrat Governor Ernest “Fritz” Hollings. The contest between Hollings and Russell generated a great deal of interest among the Democrats. The Democrats nominated little known Bradley Morrah, a State Senator from Greenville, to oppose Thurmond. The Republicans nominated State Senator Marshall Parker for the seat in the a special election. In September of 1966, the State Republican party held two major fundraising dinners and campaign events. Former Vice-President Richard Nixon was the keynote speaker at an event in Columbia and U.S. House minority leader Gerald R. Ford spoke in Charleston.
Hollings easily defeated Russell in the Democrat Primary. Many voters seemed to have a distaste for Russell’s machinations in getting appointed to the seat. Hollings and Parker ran a hotly contested race with Hollings ultimately winning 223,790 (51.3%) to 212,032 (48.7%). Thurmond easily defeated Morrah winning 271,297 (62.2%) to 164,955 (37.8%). Hollings and Thurmond would serve together in the United States Senate until Thurmond’s retirement in 2003, having the distinction of being the longest serving of past Senators from the same state. Hollings has the distinction of being the longest serving junior Senator in the United States Senate history. When Hollings retired in 2005, he was the fourth most senior member of the Senate.
1966 also saw the first governor’s race that the Republicans contested in 90 years. Democrat Bob McNair defeated Joseph O. Rogers, a Republican state senator from Manning. McNair won 255,854 to 184,088 but Republicans were buoyed by Rogers’s statewide strength.
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