Florence GOP Chair is Challenging Sen. Hugh Letherman

  FLORENCE, S.C. (AP)– Florence County Republican Party Chairman Richard Skipper is challenging one of South Carolina’s most powerful lawmakers.

Local media outlets report that Skipper announced Tuesday that he will run in the June GOP primary against State Sen. Hugh Leatherman in rural Florence County.

Leatherman has held the office for more than 36 years and is state Senate president pro-tempore and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.

Skipper says he will resign from his job as county GOP chair. He says there is a need for change in Columbia. Skipper has served in the South Carolina Army National Guard and has owned and operated an insurance agency in Florence for the last 25 years.