A Republican member of the S.C. House is suing his own party after it allegedly paid for campaign ads assisting his political opponent in the leadup to next week's primary election.
Jonathon Hill, R-Townville, filed the lawsuit in Richland County on Wednesday, arguing the state's Republican Party should not be allowed to contribute more than $5,000 to assist his primary opponent's campaign.Â
Hill, who has served in the Legislature since 2015, has had a tense relationship with many of his fellow Republicans in the Statehouse for years.
During the legislative sessions, he's often clashed with the House's Republican leadership. That animosity grew to the point that other members of the Legislature voted last year to kick him out of the Republican Caucus, where the party's legislative priorities and strategies are planned.
The opposition to Hill has seemingly carried over into the election.
The lawsuit alleges the state party paid for "thousands of mailers" supporting Hill's primary opponent, Vaughn Parfitt, who is also named as a defendant in the complaint.Â
Parfitt declined comment. Calls to officials at the state Republican Party were not returned.Â
The Greenville News previously reported on the campaign mailers supporting Parfitt, which were allegedly sent out in three separate batches.Â
According to the lawsuit, the political mail included a disclosure that the ads were "Paid for by "SCGOP" and "authorized" by Parfitt's campaign.Â
Hill believes the spending shows the Republican Party is putting its thumb on the scale and illegally influencing the election. He is asking a Richland County judge to put an end to the ads before the primary on June 9.Â
The lawsuit argues the state Republican Party should be limited to contributing, at most, $5,000 to assist Parfitt's campaign.Â
"We just need to be clear what the rules are," Hill said. "It's all murky."Â
In many ways, Hill's complaint mirrors another state campaign finance dispute that took place two years ago.Â
In that case, Dick Harpootlian, D-Columbia, challenged the Senate Republican Caucus by arguing the political organization could not contribute more than $5,000 to his Republican opponent.
At the time, the caucus was spending money on television ads to try to keep Harpootlian, a former chairman of the S.C. Democratic Party, out of the Legislature.Â
That case resulted in a judge in Richland County blocking the caucus from spending an unlimited amount of money on ads to defeat Harpootlian.Â
Harpootlian said Hill's lawsuit is likely to be decided along the same lines.Â
"I find Hill to be the most offensive, repugnant member of the Legislature, but he is entitled to the enforcement of the law just as anyone else is," Harpootlian said.Â
