Katon Dawson
| Katon Dawson | |||
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| Basic facts | |||
| Organization: | Republican Party of South Carolina | ||
| Role: | Former chairman | ||
| Location: | Columbia, S.C. | ||
| Affiliation: | Republican | ||
| Education: | University of South Carolina | ||
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Katon Dawson is a Republican political strategist from South Carolina. He was the South Carolina state director for Rick Perry's 2016 presidential campaign.[1] Previously, Dawson served as the head of the South Carolina Republican Party from 2002 to 2009.[2] In 2008, Dawson was a candidate for the chair of the Republican National Committee.[3]
Dawson was an at-large delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention from South Carolina. He was one of 50 delegates from South Carolina bound to support Donald Trump on the first ballot.[4][5] As of July 13, 2016, Trump had approximately 1,542 delegates. The winner of the Republican nomination needed the support of 1,237 delegates. Trump formally won the nomination on July 19, 2016.
Career
Dawson was elected chair of the South Carolina Republican Party in 2002, then re-elected in 2004 and 2007.[2] In his time as chair, the Republican Party won 80 percent of its races and erased $300,000 worth of debt and a $160,000 FEC fine.[6]
For the 2008 election cycle, Dawson made headlines when the South Carolina Republican Party moved the Republican primary elections from February 2 to January 19 in an effort to preserve the state's status as the first primary election in the South.[7]
In 2008, Dawson ran for the chair of the Republican National Committee, where he had previously served on the budget committee.[2] In the campaign, one of the major issues was Dawson's 12-year membership at Forest Lake Country Club in Columbia, South Carolina, whose deed restricted membership to whites.[3] Dawson quit his membership in September 2008 and "said he began working to change the club’s admissions practices in mid-August after reading about the deed."[8] Dawson lost the election to Michael Steele.[9]
In February 2009, Dawson announced that he would not seek re-election as chair of the South Carolina Republican Party, saying:[10]
| “ | This was one of the most difficult decisions I've had to make ... but I believe I've accomplished all i can in my current position. With new opportunities on the horizon, I'm keeping all my options open and look forward to remaining as active in the republican party as I have for decades.[11] | ” |
For the 2014 election cycle, Dawson and Walter Whetsell ran West Main Street Values PAC, a Super PAC in support of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).
Rick Perry presidential campaign, 2016
- See also: Rick Perry presidential campaign, 2016
Prior to Rick Perry's announcement of his campaign, Dawson worked as an advisor for RickPAC, Perry's leadership PAC.[12] Perry announced his presidential run on June 4, 2015.[13] On June 8, 2015, Dawson was announced as the chair of Perry's South Carolina campaign.[14]
In June 2015, Dawson spoke of Perry's appeal across Republican voters, saying: "There will be cross-pollination between all groups. Rick Perry has a record of creating jobs and opportunities for all. That’s a big deal for us in South Carolina."[15]
Perry suspended his presidential campaign on September 11, 2015.[16]
2016 Republican National Convention
- See also: Republican National Convention, 2016
Dawson was an at-large delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention from South Carolina.
Delegate rules
In South Carolina, national delegates were selected at congressional district conventions and the South Carolina Republican State Convention. State party rules allocated each congressional district's three delegates to the presidential candidate who received the most votes in that district. At-large delegates were allocated to the winner of the statewide primary. All delegates were bound for the first ballot at the Republican National Convention.
South Carolina primary results
| South Carolina Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Delegates | |
 Donald Trump |
32.5% | 240,882 | 50 | |
| Marco Rubio | 22.5% | 166,565 | 0 | |
| Ted Cruz | 22.3% | 165,417 | 0 | |
| Jeb Bush | 7.8% | 58,056 | 0 | |
| John Kasich | 7.6% | 56,410 | 0 | |
| Ben Carson | 7.2% | 53,551 | 0 | |
| Totals | 740,881 | 50 | ||
| Source: South Carolina State Election Commission | ||||
Delegate allocation
South Carolina had 50 delegates at the 2016 Republican National Convention. Of this total, 21 were district-level delegates (three for each of the state's seven congressional districts). South Carolina's district-level delegates were allocated on a winner-take-all basis; the candidate who won the plurality of the vote in a given congressional district was allocated all three of that district's delegates.[17][18]
Of the remaining 29 delegates, 26 served at large. South Carolina's at-large delegates were allocated on a winner-take-all basis; the candidate who won the greatest number of votes statewide received all 26 of the state's at-large delegates. In addition, three national party leaders (identified on the chart below as RNC delegates) served as bound delegates to the Republican National Convention. The RNC delegates were pledged to support the candidate who won the South Carolina primary.[17][18]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Katon Dawson. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Republican Party of South Carolina
- Rick Perry presidential campaign, 2016
- South Carolina
- Walter Whetsell
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ P2016, "Perry for President, Inc.," accessed June 16, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Politico, "Arena Profile: Katon Dawson," accessed June 17, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 National Review, "The Whole Katon Kaboodle," December 1, 2008
- ↑ South Carolina Republican Party, "2016 National Convention Delegate/Alternate Election Results," May 7, 2016
- ↑ The Post and Courier, "No single candidate may end up with all of South Carolina’s delegates," February 19, 2016
- ↑ KatonDawson.com, "The Dawson Plan," accessed June 17, 2015
- ↑ CNN, "South Carolina GOP moves up primary, adds to 2008 scramble," August 9, 2007
- ↑ The State, "S.C. GOP chairman quits whites-only country club," September 21, 2008
- ↑ CNN, "Steele becomes first African-American RNC chairman," January 31, 2009
- ↑ KGBT News, "Dawson says 'no' to another term as SC GOP Chairman," February 7, 2009
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The Texas Tribune, "Perry's Likely 2016 Bid Draws Veterans, Newcomers," March 22, 2015
- ↑ CNN, "Rick Perry launches comeback White House bid," June 4, 2015
- ↑ P2016, "Perry For President Announces SC Team," June 8, 2015
- ↑ Dallas Morning News, "Perry marches his military strategy into South Carolina," June 15, 2015
- ↑ Washington Post, "Rick Perry suspends presidential bid," September 11, 2015
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Republican National Committee, "2016 Presidential Nominating Process," accessed October 6, 2015
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 CNN.com, "Republican National Convention roll call vote," accessed July 20, 2016
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