Fact check: Horry County GOP chairman, senior organizers ‘condemned’ by state party
Two top Horry County GOP leaders said Monday night state party elders “condemned” them by name days earlier.
Prior to stepping down from their leadership posts, Horry County GOP chairman Roger Slagle and another of board member were denounced by central party leaders over a failed attempt to stall the 2021 state convention.
The motion took away “perks” such as paid travel to those in countywide leadership positions who in June voted to stall the resumption of the convention. The motion was approved Saturday during a Sept. 10 quarterly meeting of the S.C. GOP’s executive committee.
Why are the Horry County and SC GOP fighting?
In brief comments made at a Sept. 12 meeting announcing his resignation effective at month’s end, Slagle said eroding supporting support from the state GOP put him in an “untenable” position to continue leading Republicans in South Carolina’s fastest-growing county.
Slagle, vice chairman Jeremy Halpin, state executive committee chairwoman Tracy Diaz, secretary Barbara Treacy and acting treasurer Angela King all stepped down Monday night during a fiery meeting.
Slagle and other senior Horry County GOP have been at odds with S.C. GOP chairman Drew McKissick, one of the state’s most influential figures within the party. In July 2021, Horry County GOP censured him over comments he made earlier that summer as he fended off a challenge by Lin Wood, a former attorney for President Trump.
The SC party did ‘condemn’ Horry County leaders by name
State GOP spokeswoman Claire Brady confirmed Slagle and Tracy Diaz, the county’s executive committee chairwoman, were among those named in the motion. The party doesn’t make its minutes publicly available, and it was not immediately known whether Republicans from other counties were also rebuked.
“A compromise was offered to suspend the motion if the specific members apologized, but the compromise was retracted after the members did not apologize,” she told The Sun News. “The South Carolina Republican Party is continuing our focus on the November election and beating Democrats up and down the ballot in Horry County and across the state.”
This story was originally published September 14, 2022 at 5:00 AM.