SLED agrees to investigate bribery allegations in Myrtle Beach-area congressional race
South Carolina’s State Law Enforcement Division confirmed Monday the agency is investigating a bribery allegation in the Myrtle Beach-area congressional race.
Mark McBride, the former Myrtle Beach mayor who is currently running for Congress in South Carolina’s 7th Congressional District, made the allegation in a March 5 Facebook video.
Ryan Alphin, a SLED spokesperson, told The Sun News on Monday that the agency began investigating the matter on March 14 “at the request of Mark McBride” but declined to provide further information.
McBride alleges that in a phone call he had with local blogger David Hucks — who runs myrtlebeachsc.com — that Hucks attempted to bribe him on behalf of another candidate in the race. McBride later said that candidate was Horry County school board Chairman Ken Richardson. McBride filmed his video outside the Statehouse in Columbia.
“Never, never once, no one was ever stupid enough to come to me to buy my vote, to bribe me, to black mail me. Well, it happened this week,” McBride said in the video.
“’There’s an opportunity for you, there’s a $70,000 job opportunity for you to step out of this race and support another candidate,’” McBride claimed Hucks told him in a phone call.
That job, McBride claimed, would be akin to a district director for the winning congressional candidate.
Incumbent U.S. Rep. Tom Rice, who McBride and Richardson are running against, employs a similar position on his local district staff.
Hucks in recent months has written positive stories about Richardson and negativeones about other candidates.
In his video, McBride alleged that Hucks was working on behalf of Richardson when he attempted to bribe him.
Hucks, who has been paid to boost local political candidates in the past, denied Monday he was working on behalf of Richardson, adding that he swore off boosting “non-viable candidates” after November’s mayoral race in Myrtle Beach.
Hucks vehemently denied that he attempted to bribe McBride.
Hucks added that he’s hired attorney Thomas Brittain and is planning to sue McBride for defamation.
McBride said Monday that he has not hired an attorney himself because he doesn’t “(I) need a lawyer when I tell the truth.”
“Here’s a guy who’s languishing in the polls, why would I bribe him?” Hucks said in a March 7 interview. “You bribe the guy who is unorganized, disgruntled, crazy — does anyone think I’m that stupid? This is a way for (McBride) to keep his name in the public.”
Hucks added: “I’m telling you straight up I haven’t taken a cent from Ken Richardson.”
The Sun News investigated McBride’s claims earlier this month after he posted his allegations on Facebook, but chose not to publish a story due to a lack of evidence that supported the claims. The Sun News is publishing this story now because SLED is investigating.
SLED’s investigation adds yet another dimension to the contested primary election.
The race has been in the national spotlight since last year when incumbent Rice voted to impeach former President Donald Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol Building.
That vote angered some of Rice’s constituents, earned him a censure from the South Carolina Republican Party and caused a crowded field of candidates to line up against him.
Many of those candidates have argued Rice was wrong to vote to impeach Trump and that Republicans should be loyal to the former president.
Rice has argued that the GOP should stick with Trump’s policies but move away from him personally.
Trump has also weighed in on the race.
In November, he called for “good and smart” challengers to oust Rice and other Republicans he views as disloyal.
Last month, Trump endorsed state Rep. Russell Fry, one of Rice’s challengers. Trump visited Florence earlier this month to boost Fry and other South Carolina Republicans.
Fry and Richardson have emerged as two of Rice’s most serious challengers, though McBride and others continue to campaign in Horry County.
Richardson and his campaign denied McBride’s allegations.
At a March 7 candidate forum hosted by the Horry County Republican Party — two days after McBride made his allegations — an attendee asked McBride and Richardson to address the situation.
“First off, I would never ever reach out to someone to drop out of a race,” Richardson said at the forum. “I didn’t know anything about this until you dropped your bomb. I didn’t know anything about it.”
“Unfortunately, I can’t offer an apology because I didn’t do anything,” Richardson added. “Ken Richardson had nothing to do with this.”
Donald Smith, Richardson’s campaign manager, added in an interview that Richardson and McBride are “friends” and talk on the phone frequently.
“If Mark was so upset about this, why didn’t he call Ken?” Smith asked.
McBride, though, has stood by his claims.
“I stand behind what I said. I cannot be bribed and I cannot be bought and I cannot be intimidated,” he said in a March 7 interview.
McBride repeated his stance to the audience at the forum and in an interview on Monday.
“The offer was made to me. It violated state law and I told you that two weeks ago,” McBride said.
The phone call in question
Though Hucks and McBride disagree about the substance of the call, both agree that the issue stems from a Feb. 28 phone call.
Hucks provided The Sun News with a copy of his phone bill to show that McBride called him at 2 p.m. that afternoon and that the call lasted for 10 minutes.
The phone number on the bill matches McBride’s cell phone.
Hucks said he was shopping at Costco when McBride called.
He said McBride called in response to text messages he had sent him earlier in the day. Hucks provided those text messages to the newspaper, which show him asking to meet with McBride following the June 14 primary election.
According to Hucks, he reached out to McBride to talk about his campaign.
Hucks, who opposes political candidates supported by the political arm of the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, told McBride he worried that him staying in the race could dilute votes and cause a Chamber-backed candidate to win.
Hucks said he asked McBride if he had “teams” of door-knockers and organizers around the district and that McBride told him “no.”
Hucks said he told McBride that if he dropped out of the congressional race, he would help him organize a campaign for a different political office.
Hucks said he wanted to wait to meet with McBride until after the primary to discuss helping him with a future campaign.
According to Hucks, McBride bristled at the suggestion.
“He said, ‘I’m not getting out, you’re trying to bribe me,’” Hucks said. “I said, ‘I’ve been your friend, I’ve watched you lose one embarrassing race after another.’”
Since losing re-election in 2005 to former Myrtle Beach Mayor John Rhoades, McBride has run for and lost several races, including one for U.S. Senate and another for a seat in the state legislature.
“A couple days later he (posted the video),” Hucks added. “I was going to help him win a local race but damn him, I’m not helping him. He doesn’t want to do the hard work of organizing and running a campaign.”
McBride, in an interview, said he interpreted Hucks’ offer as a bribe, and said Hucks offered him a job that paid $70,000 to organize for another candidate.
“I should go work for the only one who could beat Tom (Rice),” McBride said Hucks told him.
Hucks denied that claim.
“If I were to offer you a job on behalf of any political candidate, I would be certain you would go on Facebook Live and stream (it),” Hucks wrote to McBride in an open letter he posted on his website.
“Did you not think I am smart enough to know that? I have told you continually that I have never taken a dime from the innocent candidate you wrongfully slandered.”
SLED investigating
In his March 5 Facebook video, McBride said he asked SLED to investigate his phone call with Hucks, but that the agency declined.
SLED, though, confirmed to The Sun News and other media outlets that it is now investigating the matter. MyHorryNews first confirmed SLED’s involvement in a story published Friday.
Alphin, the SLED spokesperson, said it opened the investigation because “additional information was provided after the initial request that led us to open an investigation.”
Hucks, for his part, said Monday he believes SLED’s investigation will clear his name.
“I feel very confident about my position on this,” he said. “This is campaign politics at its dirtiest.” he said.
“I believe the truth will win its way out.”
Editor’s note: This story was updated with additional comment from SLED.
This story was originally published March 21, 2022 at 1:01 PM.
