By Brandon Roberts, originally posted in The Summerville Journal Scene on Sept 2, 2024
South Carolina leaders highlight conservative values at Faith, Family and Freedom Dinner
South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and United States Rep. Nancy Mace headlined the 4th annual Dorchester County Republican Party Faith, Family and Freedom Dinner Saturday, Aug. 31, at the Dorchester Shrine Club in Summerville.
“The Faith, Family, and Freedom Dinner is a cornerstone event for the Dorchester County Republican Party, celebrating the core values that define our community and our nation,” said Steven Wright, DCRP chair. “Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and Congresswoman Nancy Mace are two prominent leaders committed to advancing conservative principles and advocating for the interests of South Carolinians.”
Mace said she was honored to speak at the event and considers Dorchester County a special place.
“It’s good to be back,” Mace said in an interview with the Journal Scene. “Dorchester County helped bring us across the finish line. We won Dorchester County by over 30 points, and I’m grateful for that.
Mace said she did not have a prepared speech and planned to speak from her heart.
“I’ll probably talk a little bit about issues important to voters in Dorchester County,” she said. “I’ll talk about my faith a bit, and just be humble and thank everybody for their support and offer to help them in any way.”
In her speech, Mace discussed inflation, the border and women’s issues, which she called the “top issues in our district.” She also spoke about her role on the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability and its hearing about the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump, which led to the resignation of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle.
Evette said she was happy to attend the event for several reasons, including Wright, who she lauded as a “dedicated and involved” leader at such a young age.
“It’s really important to support the young people who are getting involved, especially the Republican Party, because that’s what we have to do,” she said. “A few minutes of my speech tonight will be about opening our doors and getting more young people involved. How do we merge our young Republicans with our local GOPs so that we can be the big tent party we want to be.”
Evette said when she speaks to younger people, she feels they don’t think they’re welcome.
“They just feel like it’s an elite club for an older group,” she said. “I think you got to make it fun. Get business done quickly, and then it’s a social hour when everybody becomes friends; it’s much easier to get together and do fun things.”
In her speech, Evette said it is no secret that Trump will win South Carolina, so she urged those I attended to help in neighboring states.
“We have swing states to the south and north of us,” she said, referring to Georgia and North Carolina. “We got to come together. We got to help Georgia. We got to help North Carolina. It’s tight. We need to talk about our policies. We have great policies. We saw the DNC. Not one policy was talked about. They talked about feelings but not facts.”
Wright also handed out the DCRP’s annual awards at the event. June Fleming received the award for Executive Committee Person of the Year, Janette Chipas received the Most Outstanding Volunteer of the Year, Dorchester County Auditor J.J. Messervy was named Elected Official of the Year, and longtime Dorchester County Sheriff L.C. Knight was given the Lifetime Achievement Award.
