"Big money backs McCain in S.C."

Senator John McCain continues to have great success locking up big money contributors all over the nation. South Carolina is no different, and in this piece from "The State" newspaper online, money success shows McCain wants a different result in S.C. than in 2000.

Big money backs McCain in S.C.
Arizona senator lines up impressive list of 2008 finance committee members

By AARON GOULD SHEININ
asheinin@thestate.com

U.S. Sen. John McCain has locked up nearly every major Republican donor in South Carolina to lead his 2008 finance committee, including some of the top names of President Bush’s 2000 campaign.

With just a year to go before S.C. Republicans cast their ballots for the party’s presidential nominee, McCain has built a formidable team. It includes Bob Royall, Bush’s finance chairman from his 2000 Palmetto State campaign, as well as top Bush fundraisers Florence surgeon Eddie Floyd, Midlands venture capitalist Larry Wilson and Bill Stern, chairman of the State Ports Authority and finance chairman of Gov. Mark Sanford’s recent re-election campaign.

The McCain camp plans to release the full finance committee list next week, but The State obtained an advance copy Thursday.

The decision by such high-level Republican donors is significant because it continues the trend of McCain picking up the endorsement of many of Bush’s top backers from 2000. That was the year McCain won New Hampshire then was crushed in South Carolina by Bush, who went on to win the nomination and the White House.

Warren Tompkins, Bush’s 2000 campaign consultant here, has signed on to manage the 2008 campaign of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Efforts to reach Tompkins on Thursday were unsuccessful.

The high-level finance team comes in addition to the lengthy roster of top S.C. GOP elected officials who are backing McCain. They include U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, Attorney General Henry McMaster and Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell.

Royall, a former U.S. ambassador to Tanzania, ex-Commerce secretary and retired chairman of National Bank of South Carolina, said Thursday that McCain is the president the country needs.

“It’s a very complex world that we live in, and he has vast experience,” Royall said of the Arizona Republican. “He brings the kind of leadership for security in this country in time of terror.”

Royall said he was courted by other candidates, which made the decision to back McCain difficult.

“I had to take three or four months really to think about it,” he said. “I weigh all the candidates in this stage of the game, and having been involved in the past and present administration, I really think he’s the best person for the job.”
South Carolina has become a crucial Republican battleground on the road to the White House.

State GOP chairman Katon Dawson was impressed by McCain’s lineup.
“That is what I would call the ‘A Team,’” Dawson said. “That is a good list. Those are people who have substantially helped build the Republican Party in South Carolina.

“I certainly congratulate Senator McCain on surrounding himself with such excellent South Carolina citizens who have been the backbone of our political success.”

Richard Quinn Sr. is McCain’s top S.C. political consultant. He said Thursday the campaign will release the complete finance team later this month.

“All I can say is that we are excited and deeply gratified by the caliber of the people who have agreed to serve,” Quinn said. “These men and women know how to make a big difference in election campaigns.”

Floyd was a major fundraiser for Bush in 2000, earning “pioneer” status for the top contributors to the campaign. He was also on Graham’s 2002 finance committee and U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint’s 2004 team.

On Thursday, he called McCain “a great patriot."

“When it becomes obvious who you’ll support and who you’ll get behind, you ought to go ahead and make the decision and help,” Floyd said. “I was a strong member of the Bush team when John McCain ran the last time. I’ve called up a lot of my friends on the old Bush team, and I have not had one that did not want to be with McCain.”

These are not ceremonial positions, Floyd said. He expects once the team is complete that McCain will increase his visits to the state.

Wilson said he supports McCain’s positions on Iraq and government spending.
“In the last election cycles, it was split between himself and George Bush, and I supported George Bush. But this time, I see him being a clear choice in South Carolina,” Wilson said.

Reach Gould Sheinin at (803) 771-8658.