The conservative South Carolina Club for Growth has made its first endorsement of a Democrat seeking statewide office, backing Ginny Deerin over Republican incumbent Mark Hammond for Secretary of State.
S.C. Club for Growth Chairman Dave Ellison said Deerin, of Charleston, has pledged to cut the office's budget, fees and regulations, which "compellingly aligns with our commitment to fiscal conservatism."
He also charged that Hammond has let the office "become a bloated bureaucracy that wastes taxpayers' money and makes doing business in our state more cumbersome for South Carolina companies and charities."
Club for Growth operates nationwide and supports limited growth and the spread of efficiency in government.
Deerin said she was honored by the endorsement. "It is a big deal and feels great," said Deerin, who said she previously met with several members of the group's board. "I think I got their attention early on."
In the past, Club for Growth has gotten involved in political races through mail pieces, television ads and other public candidate support messages.
Hammond responded to the endorsement by saying it "lacked authenticity." He disputed their claim that the office is as difficult to deal with as the political rhetoric alleges.
"It's those taxpayers, who make South Carolina one of the top five charitable states in America, and for whom I find it so surprising that Club for Growth has endorsed its first liberal Democrat for an office of accountability - a candidate who would prefer abdicating the oversight and accountability of charities in this state to the Lois Lerners of the world at the IRS," his statement read in part.