SC GOP Chair To Presidential Contenders: Endorse The Ryan Plan Or Lose The Primary
From ThinkProgress:
On Saturday, South Carolina Republicans elected a new chairman, Chad Connelly, who will play a hugely influential role in the state’s first-in-the-South presidential primary. Because only Republicans will be holding a contested presidential primary next year, Connelly and the state GOP will be tasked with holding and funding the vote in early 2012.
ThinkProgress spoke with Connelly this past weekend to get his thoughts about the presidential field and what role the Ryan budget, which ends Medicare and extends tax breaks for the wealthy, will play in the primary. Thus far, the leading Republican presidential contenders – including former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich – have kept the Ryan budget at arm’s length, praising Ryan for his “courage” and “leadership” but purposefully stopping short of endorsing the plan.
According to Connelly, this non-committal approach would not stand in the Palmetto State. When asked whether a candidate would be able to win the South Carolina primary if he or she doesn’t endorse the Ryan budget, Connelly argued “I don’t think so”: