Non-Partisan Elections Need to Go Away

One of the things I’ve had trouble understanding since injecting myself into South Carolina politics is why there are so many local elections in which candidates do not have to declare a party. They are called non-partisan elections, and they are a means of concealing where candidates stand on issues. They are also an advantage to establishment, democrat, and big money-influenced candidates. There is no primary during these elections.

The only state races where a party must be declared are state house, state senate, governor, and lieutenant governor. All the other races are non-partisan, and aside from the aforementioned ones that are nearly upon us, there is also School Board, Horry County Town Council, and several others. (Good luck figuring out the South Carolina election website, they don’t make this stuff easy to find.)

The reason for the timing of this article is because of certain elections coming up in the Myrtle Beach area, namely the Mayoral race and City Council race. There are five candidates running for mayor, including the incumbent, Brenda Bethune, who has been the worst mayor in the history of Myrtle Beach. She is a far leftist who is on record claiming men should be able to go into women’s spaces. The city is in debt to the tune of $300 million, partly due to a lower turnout during 2025’s tourism season. Crime is up dramatically since she took over. There’s nothing good to say about her administration, but unfortunately, her chances of reelection are high, due to two factors – she’s a multi-millionaire, and she does not have to declare a party.

Mark McBride is the best person for the job. He was mayor before. He is a conservative, a Christian, and a family man. He regularly exposes the corruption that goes on in the Myrtle Beach area. He is very anti-establishment and will be an agent for positive change.

As far as city council is concerned, since most of the candidates don’t have web pages, we cannot tell where they really stand, and I’m sure most of them prefer it that way. Some do have social media, but in most cases, their stances are ambiguous at best. Johnnie Bellamy is the chair of the Myrtle Beach Republican Women. A proven leader and a conservative, she’d be an excellent choice for council.

Unlike most of the other candidates, if not all of them, Mark McBride and Johnnie Bellamy are not concealing who they are and what they’re about. I tried to visit the other candidates’ sites or social media but learned very little about them and their stances. Most of them speak in general platitudes, such as “X Candidate is against rising crime and will work to put a stop to it.” Wow, what a unique stance.

Aside from open primaries and appointed judges, non-partisan elections are another huge issue around here that needs to change. Potential voters may walk into the booth and see ten people on the slate and won’t know where eight of them stand on issues they care about. How do we have elections like this?