A Republican Pioneer Passes

By Lee Bandy
SouthCarolina Insider

(4/17/08) Former South Carolina Republican Party Chairman Dan Ross of Blackville died Wednesday after suffering a stroke.

He was 83.

Ross served as chairman from 1976 to 1980.

“We are deeply saddened by the passing” of Ross, said current state party chairman Katon Dawson. “Chairman Ross was a Republican pioneer.”

“Thanks to Chairman Ross, our state is stronger and more united than ever,” Dawson said.

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of Seneca said “His leadership and vision will be missed.”

As chairman, Ross played a major role in presidential politics by working with Republicans to make South Carolina’s first-in-the south primary a reality.

The contest has grown in significance over time. Since 1980, no candidate has won the GOP nomination for president without first winning South Carolina.

Ross helped turn South Carolina into a two-party state. South Carolina became known as the “gateway” to the South

He is survived by his wife Helen and daughter Dawn Hollingsworth.