Editing Horry County, South Carolina (section)

==Law, government, and politics==
[[File:Horry County Ralph Ellis Complex & Police Precinct 107 & 109 (May 2023) 3.jpg|thumb|Horry County Ralph Ellis Complex near Little River]]

===State delegation===
Horry County has a [[South Carolina House of Representatives]] delegation made up of 10 state representatives. In addition, the county has a South Carolina Senate delegation made up of five state senators. The delegations work concurrently to represent county issues in [[Columbia, South Carolina|Columbia]].

====State House of Representatives delegation====
The county's State House of Representatives delegation is currently made up of:
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!District
!Representative
!Party
!Residence
|-
|55
|[[Jackie E. Hayes]]
| {{party shading/Democratic}} |Dem
|[[Dillon, South Carolina|Dillon]]
|-
|56
|[[Tim McGinnis]]
| {{party shading/Republican}} |Rep
|[[Myrtle Beach, South Carolina|Myrtle Beach]]
|-
|57
|[[Lucas Atkinson]]
| {{party shading/Democratic}} |Dem
|[[Marion, South Carolina|Marion]]
|-
|58
|[[Jeff Johnson (South Carolina politician)|Jeff Johnson]]
| {{party shading/Republican}} |Rep
|[[Conway, South Carolina|Conway]]
|-
|68
|[[Heather Ammons Crawford]]
| {{party shading/Republican}} |Rep
|[[Myrtle Beach, South Carolina|Myrtle Beach]]
|-
|103
|[[Carl Anderson (South Carolina politician)|Carl Anderson]]
| {{party shading/Democratic}} |Dem
|[[Georgetown, South Carolina|Georgetown]]
|-
|104
|[[William Bailey (South Carolina politician)|William Bailey]]
| {{party shading/Republican}} |Rep
|[[North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina|North Myrtle Beach]]
|-
|105
|[[Kevin Hardee]]
| {{party shading/Republican}} |Rep
|[[Loris, South Carolina|Loris]]
|-
|106
| [[Thomas Val Guest|Val Guest, Jr.]]
| {{party shading/Republican}} |Rep
|[[Myrtle Beach, South Carolina|Myrtle Beach]]
|-
|107
|[[Case Brittain]]
| {{party shading/Republican}} |Rep
|[[Myrtle Beach, South Carolina|Myrtle Beach]]
|}

====State Senate delegation====
The county's State Senate delegation is currently made up of:
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!District
!Representative
!Party
!Residence
|-
|28
|[[Greg Hembree]]
| {{Party shading/Republican}} |Republican
|[[North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina|North Myrtle Beach]]
|-
|30
|[[Kent M. Williams]]
| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |Democratic
|[[Marion, South Carolina|Marion]]
|-
|32
|[[Ronnie A. Sabb]]
| {{Party shading/Democratic}} |Democratic
|[[Greeleyville, South Carolina|Greeleyville]]
|-
|33
|[[Luke A. Rankin]]
| {{Party shading/Republican}} |Republican
|[[Conway, South Carolina|Conway]]
|-
|34
|[[Stephen Goldfinch]]
| {{Party shading/Republican}} |Republican
|[[Murrells Inlet, South Carolina|Murrells Inlet]]
|}

===County council===
The county council of Horry County consists of members who represent 11 single-member districts with a chairman voted at-large. The county council meets at the Horry County Government and Justice Center in the first week of every month.<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 24, 2023 |title=County Council |url=https://www.horrycountysc.gov/county-council |access-date=February 24, 2023 |website=Horry County Government}}</ref> Patricia S. Hartley is the clerk to council, members of the county council include:<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 23, 2023 |title=Pat Hartley |url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/pat-hartley-4698b421 |access-date=February 23, 2023 |website=LinkedIn}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Home {{!}} SCVotes |url=https://scvotes.gov/ |access-date=July 9, 2022 |website=scvotes.gov}}</ref>

====Current county council members====
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Name !! District !! Term Expires
|-
| Johnny Gardner || Chairman || December 31, 2026
|-
| Jenna L. Dukes || 1 || December 31, 2026
|-
| Bill Howard || 2 || December 31, 2026
|-
| Dennis J. DiSabato, Jr.|| 3 || December 31, 2024
|-
| Gary Loftus || 4 || December 31, 2024
|-
| Tyler Servant || 5 || December 31, 2026
|-
| Cam Crawford || 6 || December 31, 2024
|-
| Tom Anderson || 7 || December 31, 2026
|-
| Michael Masciarelli || 8 || December 31, 2026
|-
| R. Mark Causey || 9 || December 31, 2024
|-
| Danny Hardee || 10 || December 31, 2024
|-
| Al Allen || 11 || December 31, 2022
|}

{{Missing information|Past composition of the county council|Past Composition of Council for 2023|date=November 2024}}

====Past composition of the county council====
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;font-size:85%"
!Period
!Year
!Chairman (at-large)
!District 1
!District 2
!District 3
!District 4
!District 5
!District 6
!District 7
!District 8
!District 9
!District 10
!District 11
|-
! rowspan="14" | Past
|2007
| rowspan="4" {{party shading/Republican}} |Liz Gilland
| rowspan="16" {{party shading/Republican}} |Harold Worley
| rowspan="4" {{party shading/Independent}} |Unknown
| rowspan="2" {{party shading/Independent}} |Unknown
| rowspan="2" {{party shading/Independent}} |Unknown
| rowspan="2" {{party shading/Independent}} |Unknown
| rowspan="2" {{party shading/Independent}} |Unknown
| rowspan="2" {{party shading/Independent}} |Unknown
| rowspan="2" {{party shading/Independent}} |Unknown
| rowspan="2" {{party shading/Independent}} |Unknown
| rowspan="2" {{party shading/Independent}} |Unknown
| rowspan="16" {{party shading/Republican}} |Al Allen
|-
|2008
|-
|2009
| rowspan="8" {{party shading/Democratic}} |Marion Foxworth
| rowspan="14" {{party shading/Republican}} |Gary Loftus
| rowspan="2" {{party shading/Independent}} |Unknown
| rowspan="2" {{party shading/Independent}} |Unknown
| rowspan="2" {{party shading/Independent}} |Unknown
| rowspan="2" {{party shading/Independent}} |Unknown
| rowspan="12" {{party shading/Republican}} |W. Paul Prince
| rowspan="8" {{party shading/Republican}} |Jody Prince
|-
|2010
|-
|2011
| rowspan="4" {{party shading/Republican}} |Tom Rice
| rowspan="4" {{party shading/Republican}} |Brent Schulz
| rowspan="4" {{party shading/Republican}} |Paul Price
| rowspan="2" {{party shading/Independent}} |Unknown
| rowspan="4" {{party shading/Republican}} |Carl Schwartzkopf
| rowspan="4" {{party shading/Democratic}} |James Frazier
|-
|2012
|-
|2013
| rowspan="2" {{party shading/Republican}} |Bob Grabowski*
|-
|2014
|-
|2015
| rowspan="4" {{party shading/Republican}} |Mark Lazarus
| rowspan="8" {{party shading/Republican}} |Bill Howard
| rowspan="8" {{party shading/Republican}} |Tyler Servant
| rowspan="4" {{party shading/Democratic}} |James Frazier
| rowspan="8" {{party shading/Republican}} |Johnny Vaught
| rowspan="2" {{party shading/Republican}} |Bob Grabowski*
|-
|2016
|-
|2017
| rowspan="6" {{party shading/Republican}} |Dennis DiSabato
| rowspan="6" {{party shading/Republican}} |Cam Crawford
| rowspan="6" {{party shading/Republican}} |Danny Hardee
|-
|2018
|-
|2019
| rowspan="4" {{party shading/Republican}} |Johnny Gardner
| rowspan="4" {{party shading/Republican}} |Orton Bellamy
|-
|2020
|-
! rowspan="2" | Current
|2021
| rowspan="2" {{party shading/Republican}} |R. Mark Causey
|-
|2022
|-
|colspan="14" style="font-size:90%"|* Note: Bob Grabowski's seat was renumbered from District 6 to District 8 during the redistricting of council seats.
|}

===Law enforcement===
The [[Horry County Police Department]] provides 24-hour services to the unincorporated areas of the county. It is the only county police department in South Carolina.<ref>{{cite web|title=Horry County Government: Police Department Info Page|url=http://www.horrycounty.org/Departments/Police.aspx|website=horrycounty.org|publisher=Horry County Government|access-date=July 9, 2014|archive-date=July 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714193249/http://www.horrycounty.org/Departments/Police.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Horry County Sheriff's Office is responsible for courthouse security, processing of warrants, fingerprinting, registration of sex offenders, funeral escorts, background checks, and managing the J. Reuben Long Detention Center.<ref>{{cite web|title=Horry County Government: Sheriff's Office Info Page|url=http://www.horrycounty.org/Departments/Sheriff.aspx|website=horrycounty.org|publisher=Horry County Government|access-date=July 9, 2014|archive-date=July 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714163838/http://www.horrycounty.org/Departments/Sheriff.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[South Carolina Highway Patrol]] has a Troop 5 barracks in Conway, and provides services throughout the county.<ref>[https://archive.today/20120909143706/http://www.schp.org/troop5.asp. Retrieved 2011-06-04]</ref> Myrtle Beach, Conway, Briarcliffe Acres, Atlantic Beach, Surfside Beach, Loris, and Aynor all have their own police departments, which patrol within the relevant town or city's border. North Myrtle Beach has a Public Safety Department, which provides police and fire services in the city of North Myrtle Beach.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ps.nmb.us/|title=City of North Myrtle Beach - Public Safety|website=City of North Myrtle Beach - Public Safety|language=en-US|access-date=March 9, 2020}}</ref>

In March 2020, Todd Cox, a former Horry County police officer, was fined $300 for failing to investigate reports of sex crimes against children.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Lang|first=Alex|url=https://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/news/local/crime/article241025951.html|title=Horry County officer charged with not investigating child sex crimes gets $300 fine|date=March 9, 2020|work=Myrtle Beach Sun News |access-date=March 9, 2020}}</ref> He and three other officers had been indicted in 2016 on charges of coercing sex and ignoring cases.<ref name="Herald 2016">{{cite news|url= https://www.heraldonline.com/news/local/article102233132.html |title=Indictments: Former SC officers coerced sex; ignored cases | first=Jeffrey |last=Collins |agency=Associated Press | date= September 16, 2016 |access-date=March 9, 2020}}</ref>

===Party strength===
{{PresHead|place=Horry County, South Carolina|source=<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|last=Leip|first=David|website=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=March 13, 2018}}</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|2024|Republican|141,719|62,325|1,910|South Carolina}}
{{PresRow|2020|Republican|118,821|59,180|1,743|South Carolina}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|89,288|39,410|4,222|South Carolina}}
{{PresRow|2012|Republican|72,127|38,885|1,381|South Carolina}}
{{PresRow|2008|Republican|64,609|38,879|1,310|South Carolina}}
{{PresRow|2004|Republican|50,447|29,547|1,353|South Carolina}}
{{PresRow|2000|Republican|40,300|29,113|1,852|South Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1996|Republican|26,159|23,722|4,772|South Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1992|Republican|23,489|18,896|8,819|South Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1988|Republican|24,843|13,316|250|South Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1984|Republican|20,396|8,940|127|South Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1980|Republican|14,323|13,888|653|South Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1976|Democratic|9,339|15,720|58|South Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|15,324|4,437|183|South Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1968|American Independent|3,924|3,924|6,701|South Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1964|Republican|8,293|5,444|0|South Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1960|Democratic|3,768|6,006|0|South Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1956|Democratic|1,092|4,835|2,244|South Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1952|Democratic|3,716|4,489|0|South Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1948|Dixiecrat|113|503|3,345|South Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1944|Democratic|137|2,403|188|South Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1940|Democratic|164|2,111|0|South Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1936|Democratic|0|2,927|0|South Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|29|3,224|0|South Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1928|Democratic|27|1,224|0|South Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1924|Democratic|1|1,346|3|South Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1920|Democratic|49|1,709|0|South Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1916|Democratic|0|1,638|7|South Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1912|Democratic|13|863|7|South Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1908|Democratic|56|1,247|0|South Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1904|Democratic|40|980|0|South Carolina}}
{{PresRow|1900|Democratic|79|1,330|0|South Carolina}}
{{PresFoot|1896|Democratic|196|1,372|0|South Carolina}}Horry County used to be loyally Democratic, even by the standards of the [[Solid South]]. In 1936, Republican candidate Alf Landon did not receive a single vote in Horry County. In 1964, though, [[Barry Goldwater]] carried the county by a margin almost as large as [[John F. Kennedy]]'s 1960 margin. It has voted Republican in every election since, with the exception of supporting the third-party candidacy of Alabama Governor [[George Wallace]] in 1968 and neighboring Georgia's [[Jimmy Carter]] in 1976. While conservative Democrats continued to hold most local offices into the 1990s, today, there are almost no elected Democrats left above the county level. No Democratic presidential candidate has received more than 40% of the county's vote since 2000.