South Carolina 'bathroom bill' sponsor defeated in GOP primary

GOP state senator and "bathroom bill" sponsor Lee Bright

South Carolina offered another sign Tuesday that it has parted ways with North Carolina over anti-LGBT bathroom bills when state Sen. Lee Bright, sponsor of the Palmetto State's unsuccessful effort to pass a transphobic "bathroom bill," lost his Republican primary runoff. The AP reports:

The Roebuck Republican was the only incumbent publicly opposed by the state Chamber of Commerce's political committee, which ran several radio ads against him. The ads criticized Bright's bill as a time-wasting political stunt and faulted him for not supporting bills aimed at fixing South Carolina's crumbling roads.

The two-term senator was defeated by former state Rep. Scott Talley. Both the chamber and Gov. Nikki Haley supported Talley in the runoff.

Four years ago, Haley endorsed Bright for the seat representing Greenville and Spartanburg counties.

Very interesting indeed, given that the upstate of South Carolina—Greenville and Spartanburg—is the heart of the state's evangelical vote, with more than 500 evangelical churches.