A massive thank you to the incredible crowd that packed the house for our 2026 Convention! The energy in the room was electric. We are organized, energized, and are ready to break the supermajority. Here are the major highlights from an incredible event:
Main Events
- Convention Officers Elected: Randy Herald (Convention President), Ann Bosak (Convention Secretary), and Lee Smith (Treasurer).
- Chair’s Report: Heard a comprehensive update from Chair M Greg Green.
- State Convention Delegates: Elected delegates to represent us at the State Convention on May 30th, 2026, at the SC State Fairgrounds. We are allotted 102 Delegates.
- State Leadership: Heard from State Party Chair Christale Spain.
- Resolutions Passed:
- Recommended reforming the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
- Petitioned the Democratic National Committee to allow ranked-choice voting in the presidential primary.
- Fundraising: Successfully raised over $750 in donations during the event itself.
Year-in-Review Accomplishments
- Membership Growth: The party successfully increased its Mobilize sign-ups from just over 400 to more than 1,000.
- Candidate Recruitment: In 2024, Democrats contested 2 of 11 House seats (18%). In 2025, our special election candidate, Col. Chuck Hightower, boosted our participation to 100%! So far this year, 6 of 11 House seats will have a Democratic Candidate (55%).
- Public Forums: We hosted a public forum with Rep. Bauer and Rep. Garvin, as well as an opportunity to hear from Candidate Lisa Ellis.
- Precinct Representation: Currently, we have 46 of 96 precincts represented on our Executive Committee (48%). We have work to do in this area!
- Community Engagement: Our Holiday event was filled with great food, conversation, and music! We tabled at several festivals, joined the holiday parade, and collaborated with RCDP and YDCM for Pride and the amazing first No Kings Rally. Join us again next Saturday. It’s only up from here!!!
- Leadership Development: The county benefited from a strong Clyburn Fellowship program, with multiple fellows stepping up to build knowledge and capacity within the local party.
- Voter Outreach: We have 10.98% inactive voters in Lexington—that’s 23,383 votes we are missing out on! Let’s build meaningful connections with our neighbors to get them back to the polls.
- Elections & Turnout: We have several options for Governor and Congressional District 2! We must show up for Primaries, Run-offs, AND the General Election.
- Fundraising: Thank you to our 18 Recurring Donors! We’re 72% to our goal—all donations help sustain this organization. We also partnered with RCDP for a Chili Cook-off and raised over $1,300. Let’s bring Richland over to Lake Murray next and fire up the grills!
- Regional Partnerships: We are working closely with Aiken and Newberry to make sure every seat is contested, and these efforts are certainly ramping up.
Notable Speakers
- Julie Zimmerman: Spoke regarding her run for State House District 71.
- Steven Asbill: Addressed his candidacy for State House District 85.
- Stuart Epting: Presented his campaign for State House District 86.
- Reid Beaman: Pitched his run for State House District 87.
- Joe Madge: Spoke regarding his run for State House District 89.
- Jermaine Johnson’s Representative: Spoke on behalf of the representative’s gubernatorial campaign.
- Roger Pruitt, David Robinson & Zyon Khalifa: Pitched their campaigns to unseat the incumbent, Joe Wilson, in the 2nd Congressional District. Listen to Zyon’s speech here.
- Bob (representing Edwina Winter): Spoke on behalf of Winter’s campaign for Secretary of State.
- Kathy Hensley: Spoke about running again for the non-partisan Soil & Water Commission and secured the needed signatures for her petition.
Key Announcements
- The county party currently has vacancies for the Treasurer and Secretary roles.
- A vacancy was announced for the Second Vice Chair position at the state level.
- State leadership emphasized the party’s historic goal to recruit a candidate for every legislative seat.
- Attendees were heavily encouraged to set up monthly recurring donations to help the self-sustaining party cover its operating expenses. Donate now.
- Filing for school board elections will open in August.
