YORK COUNTY, S.C. — Some Democrats are hoping to have their say in the Republican primary for York County sheriff, and that isn’t sitting well with the local Republican Party chairman.
It started with a post on Facebook from York County Councilman William “Bump” Roddey. The Democratic councilman urged Democratic voters to study the Republican candidates for sheriff and then vote in the Republican primary in June.
“If the Republicans are the only ones that put up a candidate, then we want the best Republican that’s going to take our interests into consideration,” Roddey told Channel 9′s Tina Terry.
Terry has been covering the evolving sheriff’s race since current sheriff Kevin Tolson announced he wouldn’t be running for re-election. The Republican Party reopened its primary race to welcome a few more contenders, but there’s no Democrat in the running for sheriff in November, meaning the Republican primary is the de facto sheriff’s election.
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It’s legal in South Carolina, but Republican Party Chairman Larry Barnett recently sent an email to party members saying it shouldn’t be.
“For years, we have been asking for our so-called Republican legislature to close our primaries to keep the liberals, socialists and communists from voting in our GOP primary,” Barnett said in the email.
“We’ve not been able to get our legislature to pass a bill closing our primaries,” Barnett said in a phone call with Terry.
Republican state House Rep. Brandon Newton introduced House Bill 3695 recently, which would put an end to cross-party voting, with the exception of unaffiliated voters.
“Let’s say there’s no Republican primary and there’s a few people running against me for my house seat. I know one of them is way easier for me to defeat, [the bill] would stop me from all my friends voting in their primary to vote for the weaker candidate to come out,” Newton said.
Barnett doesn’t support the bill because it allows unaffiliated voters to participate in the primary they choose. He’s hoping for tougher legislation.
Some voters told us they want to leave things just the way they are, while others supported ending cross-party voting.
On May 30 at Freedom Temple, the Democratic Party is hosting a meet and greet with candidates for York County sheriff and solicitor.
You can learn more about the candidates for the June 11 primary at this link.
(WATCH: Deputy shoots, kills York Co. suspect while serving warrant, sheriff’s office says)
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