When I was growing up in South Carolina, there was no such thing as a Republican primary election; indeed, most political contests in the state were decided in the Democratic primary--not the general election--because it essentially was a one-party state.Today, South Carolina is still pretty much a one-party state, but now that party is the Republican Party.
Still, Republicans don't like primary fights, at least not in South Carolina. Generally, they'd rather do the dirty work behind the scenes, out of sight. Even rarer is a serious Republican primary challenge to an incumbent.
On June 13, however, SC republicans will vote in a primary that features a spirited race against incumbent governor Mark Sanford by an insurgent small-town physician, Oscar Lovelace (right).
I went to high school with Oscar. Don't underestimate him.
At a time when our high school was 75-85% African American, Oscar handily won election as student body president, in large part because he easily rose above petty factionalism and he LISTENED to what his erstwhile constituents had to say. Oscar then went on to also become student body president at Clemson University.
Few in SC give Oscar much of a chance of unseating Sanford and the Curmudgeon isn't going to predict a Lovelace victory. But, he could embarass Sanford with a solid percentage of the vote.
Why is Lovelace, a physician with a successful family practice, a man with a large family, and a political novice (apart from his student body positions) taking the trouble to run against Sanford, who reportedly has a war chest of over $5 million?
Mainly because he sees Sanford--who he supported the first time around--as an arrogant, dogmatic Governor who hasn't really listened to anyone.
Lovelace became disillusioned after Sanford asked him to co-chair a Health Care Task Force. After spending considerable time and energy going around the state to talk to various health care professionals and then producing a succinct report outlining the state's most critical needs, Lovelace was surprised and disappointed when Sanford promptly ignored the report (but not before posing for photos at a press conference touting the report's release).
Lovelace would like to see SC's cigarette tax--the lowest in the country--raised a tad to help fund some improvements in the state's health care network. Sanford dogmatically opposes any and all tax increases; he also recently vetoed a state-of-the-art heart center in Lexington County--the state's most populous Republican jurisdiction--which has upset many supporters there.
It's too bad Lovelace isn't likely to win--he'd be a real credit to the Republican Party. He's whip smart, pragmatic, gregarious, religious, family-oriented and truly compassionate. He'd have an excellent chance of reaching out to independents, expanding the party's base and making inroads with African-Americans.
Oh, and he'd make a great governor.
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