By JIM DAVENPORT,
Published Monday, October 17, 2005
ROCK HILL, S.C. (AP) - The South Carolina Republican Party's primaries are eight months away, but the state GOP already endorsed a candidate to challenge Democratic U.S. Rep. John Spratt.
It's an unusual move given another Republican entered the race two months earlier.
Now, a party that once had trouble recruiting candidates to take on Spratt appears to be shutting one out in an effort to rally support for a man chosen by party leaders instead of primary voters. <snip>
The GOP's "smoke-filled back rooms are resembling a forest fire now," said Dick Harpootlian, former state Democratic Party chairman. "The Communist Party had a fairer candidate selection process than the South Carolina Republican Party." <snip>
http://www.islandpacket.com/news/state/regional/story/5262917p-4777364c.html