Dear fellow Republicans, We are current and former county chairmen and members of our Republican State Executive

Committee. Like you, we have seen the recent stream of negative emails coming from those who are criticizing Chad Connellys leadership of our party and we wanted to take a moment as a group to set the record straight. Throughout his term as Chairman, Chad has gone to great lengths to work with local leaders in every county, visiting all forty-six county party organizations and working with them to build our party. As a result, we have enjoyed record-breaking success.

Chads Record:
We increased our majorities in the state legislature: gaining two seats in the House for a total of seventy-eight, and gaining one in the Senate for a total of twenty-eight and added to our congressional majority by winning the new 7th district. We raised a record $3.6 million dollars for the 2012 election cycle. We hosted three nationally televised presidential debates and saw a record 607,000 fellow South Carolinians support our Presidential Primary We also activated over 1,400 campaign volunteers and made over 800,000 critical voter contacts in support of our candidates in South Carolina and key battleground states. It is for these, and a host of other reasons, that Chad has been endorsed by over 90 members of our state committee and county chairmen, in addition to many of our statewide elected officials. These are people who take our party seriously and they dont offer their endorsements lightly.

Negative Distortions:
Of course, there have been challenges. There always are, and thats politics. But now these challenges and the facts surrounding them are being distorted by those who are pushing their own negative agenda. First, they are claiming that Chad sought a one million dollar bailout of our state party. THIS IS FALSE! This is an intentionally misleading reference to the fact that the State Election Commission conducted our 2012 Presidential Primary, just as it did in 2008 for our party and for the Democrat party. Simply put, its their job and due to federal election laws, it is a necessity.

The fact is that our Presidential Primary is an important part of the growth of our party, a great opportunity for our conservative grassroots activists and an economic boon for our state. Second, they are claiming that Chad was the cause of having many Republicans thrown off the ballot last year. THIS IS FALSE! Chad worked to do everything possible to protect our candidates. The simple fact is that new legislation regarding candidate filing was passed which conflicted with existing law, resulting in lawsuits and an unprecedented State Supreme Court decision to throw candidates of both parties off the ballot rather than allowing them to amend their filings. This was despite the fact that the State Election Commission officially received these filings. In the end, we agreed to work to hold Democrats to an equally vigorous standard when it came to being on the ballot, which resulted in more Democrats being removed than Republicans. Finally, you should know that the legal action that started it all was initiated by REPUBLICANS who have brought nothing but division to our party. Those efforts were further supported by some of the same Republicans who are spreading these negative accusations today. They are wrong and disingenuous. Third, they are charging that Chad made the party borrow money and engaged in deficit spending. THIS IS FALSE! In the course of defending our nominees and their ability to get on the ballot, as well as our county party organizations, we had to go to court which meant legal bills. The State Executive Committee not just Chad discussed and then approved taking out a loan to temporarily cover these expenses so as not to disrupt our plans and resources for the 2012 election. It was the right move for our candidates and our local party organizations. The 2012 election results speak for themselves. We strongly believe that it is our job as a party to defend the ability of our candidates to be on the ballot, as well as the right of voters to have a Republican alternative in every general election. It is also worth pointing out that many of the people spreading these accusations are the same people pushing for changes to our partys nomination process that would result in more lawsuits and more candidates thrown off of the ballot. We are county chairmen and members of the State Executive Committee. We were there, and these are the facts. We hope you will help us spread the word and oppose efforts to promote division in our party. We also hope that you will join us in supporting Chad Connellys re-election as our Chairman at the May 4th State Convention. Sincerely,

Glenn McCall National Committeeman, former York County Chairman Cindy Costa National Committeewoman Jim Jerow former Georgetown Chairman Joyce Jerow former Georgetown Committeewoman Brenda Bedenbaugh Saluda Committeeman Moye Graham Clarendon Chairman Larry Jordan Calhoun Chairman Max Kaster Calhoun Committeeman Tommy Plonk former Lexington Committeeman Lin Bennett SCGOP First Vice Chairman, former Charleston Chairman Lanneau Siegling Charleston Committeeman Eric Fry Marion Chairman Jack Parke Chesterfield Chairman Glenn Gulledge Chesterfield Committeeman Eddie Adams former Oconee Chairman Phil Soper Oconee Committeeman Ladonna Ryggs former Spartanburg Chairman Sandy McGarry Lancaster Chairman Earl Capps Lancaster Committeeman Donnie Jones former Lancaster Committeeman Roy R. Lindsey Orangeburg Committeeman Shery Smith Sumter Chairman Steve Smith Newberry Chairman Terry Hardesty Berkeley Chairman Rodney Ashcraft Edgefield Chairman Susan Aiken SCGOP District 3 Chairman, former Anderson Committeewoman Dennis Saylor former Aiken Chairman Kevin Thomas Fairfield Chairman Nick Sprouse Beaufort Chairman Jim Dickson former Beaufort Committeeman Ida Martin Williamsburg Chairman Carroll Duncan former Dorchester Chairman Janice McCord Abbeville Committeewoman Randy Page SCGOP District 2 Chairman Phillip Bowers Pickens Chairman Margaret Hendricks Pickens Committeewoman Ouida Page Darlington Chairman Michael Luppe Darlington Committeeman Deb Marks Richland Committeewoman Drew McKissick SCGOP Executive Committee Parlimentarian DeLinda Ridings SCGOP Executive Committee Secretary Edward J. Cousar SCGOP Second Vice Chairman John Major Cherokee Chairman Bill Pickle former Florence Chairman Glenn Baum Florence Committeeman Drew Johnson SCGOP District 5 Chairman, former Chester Chairman

Sandra Stroman Chester Committeeman Ruth Obermeyer McCormick Chairman Denny Obermeyer McCormick Committeeman