Lin Wood’s plan to take over SC GOP fails, Drew McKissick wins another term
Lin Wood’s monthslong attempt to sway enough delegates to make him the next South Carolina Republican Party chairman over incumbent Drew McKissick went up in smoke Saturday, despite the Atlanta pro-Trump attorney sweeping two of the state’s more conservative strongholds.
The vote was hardly surprising in a traditionally red state that, under McKissick, recorded one of its most successful election years since the Republican Party took control of both of the state Legislature’s chambers years ago.
Out of 861 delegates, McKissick easily won a third term with 582 delegates — 67.8% of the vote — to Wood’s 239.
Two other chairman challengers Michael LaPierre and Mark Powell each secured 27 and 10 delegates, respectively.
“The (Republican) Party is a small family if you will, you know, and it’s not surprising that someone who has no roots in the state and no contacts within that group of people” would lose, McKissick told reporters.
“I think the party spoke with a pretty clear voice here today,” McKissick added.
The South Carolina GOP held a hybrid convention Saturday because of COVID-19, a committee decision because the party was unable to cram what can typically be thousands of people inside a convention center. Because of that change, candidates did not give speeches and, instead, submitted them by email.
By holding a hybrid convention, Wood and his backers accused the party and McKissick of flouting their own rules. This week, a judge rejected a lawsuit filed by three of Wood’s Upstate backers to hold the convention in person.
Despite the COVID-19 precautions taken, McKissick said the delegate count could not have been more transparent.
“If he wants to, you know, make any allegations of cheating or anything of that nature (to) the folks in this room, I think he won’t find a receptive audience,” McKissick said.
McKissick entered the race as the incumbent since 2017, hard enough to beat in a state where statewide incumbents rarely fall.
In the past year alone, McKissick led a party that flipped a Lowcountry seat in Congress back to red and overcame an unprecedented and historic campaign to beat Democrat Jaime Harrison and keep Graham in Washington. In the State House, Republicans flipped five seats, shoring up the party’s control.
McKissick also had two of the strongest voices in the Republican Party by his side: Republican Gov. Henry McMaster, a Richland County delegate, and former President Donald Trump, who endorsed McKissick a total of three times, as recently as Friday.
Trump called McKissick Saturday to congratulate him on his win, telling McKissick on speakerphone he looks forward to more victories with him and calling Gov. Henry McMaster a “tremendous and loyal guy.”
Wood’s rise in state Republican circles to try to become party chairman was always going to be an uphill battle for him.
Though he won more delegates in the highly populated conservative Greenville and Horry counties, Wood only became a registered South Carolina voter in February and had no experience running campaigns or getting involved in grassroots efforts for a party that holds the South’s first presidential primary.
Wood’s unorthodox campaign to beat McKissick also was not — and, arguably would have never been — enough to convince most delegates, many of whom have been loyal to the party for years, to vote for him and against McKissick.
McKissick won his home county, Richland County, with 65 delegates to zero for Wood.
Embracing Trump, Wood also made vague, unsubstantiated references to “nefarious activities” involving McKissick and U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham at his convention stops and, without offering any evidence, accused the two of striking a non-disclosure agreement. McKissick has repeatedly denied one exists.
Wood spoke often about child sex trafficking, a sentiment popular among adherents of the QAnon conspiracy theory.
Wood, in his candidate speech emailed to delegates, told the delegates the party “must get rid of corrupt politicians, defend the middle class, put God back in government, and return the power to We The People.”
He accused Republicans such as McKissick of abusing money and power without offering any evidence.
Wood has vowed to stick around, and his support in particularly Greenville and Horry counties — populous Republican strongholds — is being closely watched.
In Greenville, another populous county, Wood won 73 delegates to McKissick’s five. In Horry County, Wood won 35 to McKissick’s 13.
McKissick, however, appears hardly distracted by Wood, instead focusing on the next two years leading a party through a presidential primary. That includes, he said, fundraising, training and identifying and motivating new Republican voters.
This year, McKissick will focus on the State House as legislative Republicans work on redistricting and election law changes.
In the fall, the state GOP plans to host a “CPAC-style” conference in Horry County, ground zero to what could be the state’s most contentious congressional race next year after Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Rice voted to impeach Trump over his role in the Jan. 6 riot.
Wood, who won only one delegate in his new home county of Beaufort, did not attend Saturday’s convention.
Instead, he posted to the Telegram app that he was hosting a supporter party at his residence.
This story was originally published May 15, 2021 at 12:08 PM with the headline "Lin Wood’s plan to take over SC GOP fails, Drew McKissick wins another term."
