CVSC and CVSC-PAC Spend $650,000 and Drive Over 2 Million Voter Contacts in 2024 Primary Elections
Conservation Voters of South Carolina (CVSC) and CVSC Political Action Committee (CVSC-PAC) invested over $650,000 and drove over 2 million voter contacts in the 2024 primary elections to support candidates committed to fighting to protect the air, land, and water of South Carolina.
CVSC endorsed 34 candidates in the House and Senate primary elections, including 18 Republicans and 16 Democrats. CVSC-PAC invested in each of the 34 primaries through targeted mail, digital ads, radio ads, texts, phone calls, door-to-door voter contacts, or direct contributions. In total, CVSC-PAC drove 2,259,847 voter contacts between May 1 and June 11 in support of endorsed candidates, not including those voters reached through radio ads.
The overarching theme of CVSC and CVSC-PAC’s electoral engagement this primary was defending pro-conservation allies in the House and Senate and electing pragmatic Republicans who will work with their colleagues in the House and Senate to support bold land protection, clean water, and clean energy policies in South Carolina.
While the outcome of these elections won’t be known until Tuesday evening, one thing is clear: CVSC and CVSC-PAC have stepped up to elect pragmatic leaders on both sides of the aisle who will fight for the people and environment of South Carolina.
Open Seat Investments
Almost half of CVSC’s endorsements focused on winning open seats. Most of these Republican races have a South Carolina Freedom Caucus opponent candidate, and CVSC worked aggressively against these radical candidates. CVSC-endorsed candidates in open seats include:
- House 9, Republican, Blake Sanders
- House 20, Republican, Sarah Curran
- House 22, Republican, Paul Wickensimer
- House 26, Republican, David Martin
- House 28, Republican, Kerri Smith
- House 34, Republican, JoAnne LaBounty
- House 54, Democratic, Jason Luck
- House 66, Republican, Michelle Branning
- House 70, Democratic, Robert Reese
- House 79, Democratic, Hamilton Grant
- House 81, Republican, Charles Hartz
- House 93, Democratic, Phil Ford
- Senate 12, Republican, Hope Blackley
- Senate 22, Democratic, Ivory Thigpen
- Senate 35, Democratic, Jeffrey Graham
Contested Races
In eight House primary contests, CVSC and CVSC-PAC supported challengers to incumbent Representatives. Each challenger recognizes the value of common sense conservation efforts and will bring new, energetic leadership to the House. The incumbents in these races scored very low on CVSC’s legislative conservation scorecard, as indicated below. Endorsements in races challenging an incumbent include:
- House 6 Republican Primary – Kyle White challenging incumbent Rep. April Cromer, who has a CVSC Score of 29%
- House 17 Republican Primary – Tom Bates challenging incumbent Rep. Mike Burns, who has a CVSC Score of 11%
- House 35 Republican Primary – Kevin Dunn challenging incumbent Bill Chumley, who has a CVSC Score of 11%
- House 36 Republican Primary – Adam Crisp challenging incumbent Rep. Rob Harris with a CVSC Score of 14%
- House 38 Republican Primary – Jason Shamis challenging incumbent Rep. Josiah Magnuson, who has a CVSC Score of -3%
- House 40 Republican Primary – Vince Northcutt challenging incumbent Rep. Joe White, who has a CVSC Score of 0%
- House 57 Democratic Primary – Cynthia Ford challenging incumbent Rep. Lucas Atkinson, who has a CVSC Score of 60%
- House 85 Republican Primary – Dean Widener challenging incumbent Rep. Jay Kilmartin, who has a CVSC Score of 14%
Incumbent Defense
CVSC and CVSC-PAC also invested in defending bipartisan champions from primary challengers, viewing these champions as “the backbone of building a conservation majority in the General Assembly.”
CVSC refused to endorse any incumbent who voted in favor of H.5118 on the second reading in the House on 3/27/2024, given that this legislation posed an enormous threat to customer bills and the environment. If passed, this bill would have given power companies a blank check to raise rates and destroy the environment with little to no oversight. CVSC informed lawmakers before the vote that we viewed the second reading vote on H.5118 as one of the most critical environmental votes in the last 20 years. As a result, this threshold vote on H.5118 resulted in the endorsement of fewer Republican members of the House than in past years.
- House 15 Democratic Primary – JA Moore
- House 25 Democratic Primary – Wendell Jones
- House 72 Democratic Primary – Seth Rose
- House 82 Democratic Primary – Bill Clyburn
- Senate 7 Democratic Primary – Karl Allen
- Senate 19 Democratic Primary – Tameika Isaac Devine
- Senate 23 Republican Primary – Katrina Shealy
- Senate 32 Democratic Primary – Ronnie Sabb
- Senate 36 Democratic Primary – Kevin Johnson
- Senate 40 Democratic Primary – Brad Hutto
- Senate 41 Republican Primary – Sandy Senn
A full list of CVSC-endorsed candidates and election results will be available at cvsc.org/elections.
2024 Primary Races Spend & Voter Contacts Per Candidate :
Open Seat Investments:
| District | Party Primary | CVSC-Endorsed Candidate | Total Voter Contacts | Voter Contact Details |
| House 9 | Republican | Blake Sanders | 51,927 | Mail: 35,397 Texts: 7,500 Live Calls: 6,000 Doors: 3,030 |
| House 20 | Republican | Sarah Curran | 87,686 | Mail: 39,186 Texts: 8,500 Digital: 40,000 |
| House 22 | Republican | Paul Wickensimer | 108,537 | Mail: 55,757 Texts: 9,750 Digital: 40,000 Doors: 3,030 |
| House 26 | Republican | David Martin | 42,255 | Mail: 29,100 Texts: 10,125 Doors: 3,030 |
| House 28 | Republican | Kerri Smith | 75,957 | Mail: 25,457 Texts: 7,500 Live Calls: 3,000 Digital: 40,000 |
| House 34 | Republican | JoAnne LaBounty | 129,572 | Mail: 32,072 Texts: 7,500 Digital: 90,000 |
| House 54 | Democratic | Jason Luck | 6,037 | Mail: 6,037 |
| House 66 | Republican | Michelle Branning | 52,519 | Mail: 35,614 Texts: 10,875 Live Calls: 3,000 Doors: 3,030 |
| House 70 | Democratic | Robert Reese | 35,491 | Mail: 21,724 Texts: 6,100 Live Calls: 6,000 Doors: 1,667 |
| House 79 | Democratic | Hamilton Grant | 28,557 | Mail: 21,432 Texts: 3,125 Live Calls: 4,000 |
| House 81 | Republican | Charles Hartz | 19,385 | Mail: 19,385 |
| House 93 | Democratic | Phil Ford | 18,895 | Mail: 14,520 Texts: 4,375 |
| Senate 12 | Republican | Hope Blackley | 351,798 | Mail: 118,124 Texts: 22,500 Live Calls: 12,000 Digital: 190,000 Radio: 3 spots per day on 4 stations for 7 days = 84 spots Doors: 9,090 |
| Senate 22 | Democratic | Ivory Thigpen | 117,392 | Mail: 33,737 Texts: 6,625 Live Calls: 4,000 Digital: 70,000 Doors: 3,030 |
| Senate 35 | Democratic | Jeffrey Graham | 19,538 | Mail: 16,683 Texts: 2,188 Doors: 667 |
Contested Races:
| District | Party Primary | CVSC- Endorsed Candidate | Incumbent | Incumbent CVSC Score (2024/Lifetime) | Total Voter Contacts | Voter Contact Details |
| House 6 | Republican | Kyle White | April Cromer | 29%/29% | 80,540 | Mail: 61,790 Texts: 8,750 Live Calls: 8,000 Doors: 2,000 |
| House 17 | Republican | Tom Bates | Mike Burns | 11%/39% | 105,152 | Mail: 65,152 Digital: 40,000 |
| House 35 | Republican | Kevin Dunn | Bill Chumley | 11%/24% | 193,395 | Mail: 57,254 Texts: 15,688 Robocall: 8,453 Digital: 110,000 Doors: 2,000 |
| House 36 | Republican | Adam Crisp | Rob Harris | 14%/14% | 180,295 | Mail: 36,515 Texts: 9,750 Live Calls: 1,000 Digital: 130,000 Doors: 3,030 |
| House 38 | Republican | Jason Shamis | Josiah Magnuson | -3%/35% | 111,345 | Mail: 52,752 Texts: 12,563 Live Calls: 3,000 Digital: 40,000 Doors: 3,030 |
| House 40 | Republican | Vince Northcutt | Joe White | 0%/0% | 93,702 | Mail: 39,172 Texts: 7,500 Live Calls: 4,000 Digital: 40,000 Doors: 3,030 |
| House 57 | Democratic | Cynthia Ford | Lucas Atkinson | 60%/51% | 55,191 | Mail: 40,718 Texts: 5,375 Live Calls: 4,000 Radio: 5 spots a day on 6 stations for 7 days= 210 spots Doors: 5,098 |
| House 85 | Republican | Dean Widener | Jay Kilmartin | 14%/14% | 37,598 | Mail: 26,818 Texts: 4,750 Live Calls: 3,000 Doors: 3,030 |
Incumbent Defense:
| District | Party Primary | CVSC-Endorsed Candidate | Total Voter Contacts | Voter Contact Details |
| House 15 | Democratic | JA Moore | 1,962 | Mail: 1,962 |
| House 25 | Democratic | Wendell Jones | 1,880 | Mail: 1,880 |
| House 72 | Democratic | Seth Rose | 52,333 | Mail: 2,333 Digital: 50,000 |
| House 82 | Democratic | Bill Clyburn | 3,126 | Mail: 3,126 |
| Senate 7 | Democratic | Karl Allen | 8,646 | Mail: 8,646 |
| Senate 19 | Democratic | Tameika Isaac Devine | 14,001 | Mail: 14,001 |
| Senate 23 | Republican | Katrina Shealy | 14,271 | Mail: 14,271 |
| Senate 32 | Democratic | Ronnie Sabb | 16,649 | Mail: 16,649 |
| Senate 36 | Democratic | Kevin Johnson | 6,275 | Mail: 6,275 |
| Senate 40 | Democratic | Brad Hutto | 15,271 | Mail: 15,271 |
| Senate 41 | Republican | Sandy Senn | 122,753 | Mail: 109,315 Texts: 10,438 Live Calls: 3,000 |