Merrill gives up GOP majority leader post

COLUMBIA — Picture this: a younger Jim Merrill sitting in an local chain restaurant here with none other than former Vice President Dan Quayle when a handful of co-eds walk up.

They said they recognized them.

"Surely, you know this fellow," Merrill said, gesturing to Quayle.

Oh, yeah. They totally did.

"You're Don Johnson," one spoke up.

Ouch. Quayle ended his short-lived presidential bid in 2000 after that.

Merrill went on to advise John McCain in the knock-down, drag-out primary he lost to President George W. Bush, and Merrill started his own political career as a South Carolina state representative.

Eight years later, Merrill, 41, is stepping aside as House Republican majority leader and evaluating his next move.

"I am kind of at a crossroads. Do I do the political thing a little longer or do I move to the private sector? I don't know," Merrill said.

He runs a political consulting and public relations firm from his Daniel Island home where he lives with his wife, Noel, and three children.

While running that business, he keeps his political eye on a potential run for higher office, perhaps for governor or the U.S. House of Representatives.

"I've been intrigued by statewide office. I've had some conversations, but I don't know. Sometimes I get in funks and get so irritated by government and how . . . ineffective and laborious it is," Merrill said.

Merrill has an ability to diffuse situations with a quick joke, a savvy political mind and is one of the most popular guys in the chamber. He won his first election in June 2000 with almost 74 percent of the vote.

He was selected as majority leader in October 2004 by the Republican Caucus and later pushed to impose term limits on the position. The majority leader builds coalitions, counts votes and brokers deals to make sure the ruling party is successful on the floor.

With Merrill in the leadership position, Charleston's political power was solidified further. Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell and House Speaker Bobby Harrell both are Charleston Republicans. Gov. Mark Sanford, whose home is on Sullivan's Island, sits at the top post.

Harrell said Merrill still will be a significant factor for bringing resources to the Lowcountry and perhaps even more so because he will be freer to focus on what he personally thinks is important.

"Jimmy is giving the title up, but he is not giving up his ability to influence what happens," Harrell said.

On policy, Merrill is a fiscal conservative and a champion for a number of issues such as offering school choice, eliminating taxpayer-funded lobbyists and establishing environmental protections.

Merrill said the hallmark of his four years as majority leader is the plan that swaps property taxes for sales tax as a way to fund schools.

The tax swap will end up forcing change in the tax code and the education funding formulas, necessary debates that Merrill said might not have come so soon otherwise.

Other significant legislation Merrill helped shepherd through as majority leader includes a plan to combat illegal immigration in South Carolina and changing the way the Department of Transportation functions.

Rep. Kenny Bingham, R-Cayce, is Merrill's likely successor, pending a caucus vote scheduled for December. Merrill's best quality is his ability to understand what the public wants and to communicate what the Legislature is doing about it, Bingham said.

"Jim's got a great political awareness, that's not always natural," Bingham said.

In his next term, Merrill said he will be focused on changing the education funding formula and examining the way the State Ports Authority conducts business.

"I've never been a super-duper follower," Merrill said. "I'd rather at least have a hand in what's going on."