Bruce Chadwick Connelly (born August 22, 1963) is an American politician who served as chairman of the

South Carolina Republican Party The South Carolina Republican Party (SCGOP) is the state affiliate of the national Republican Party in South Carolina. It is one of two major political parties in the state, along with the South Carolina Democratic Party, and is the dominant pa ...

from May 2011 until June 2013, when he resigned to take a senior role at the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. political committee that assists the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican brand and political platform, as well as assisting in fu ...

. In early 2016, he was a candidate for

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

for . He came in 4th place out of 7 candidates in the Republican Primary, receiving 5,546 votes or 14.1% out of the 39,270 votes. That election was later won by

Ralph Norman Ralph Warren Norman Jr. (born June 20, 1953) is an American real estate developer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2017. His district includes most of the South Carolina side of the Charlotte metropolitan area, alo ...

Biography

Early life

He graduated from

Clemson University Clemson University () is a public land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina. Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second-largest university in the student population in South Carolina. For the fall 2019 semester, the university enro ...

, where he earned a degree in

civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage ...

in 1985.

Career

He began his career as an engineer but later started his own business. He was elected chairman on May 7, 2011. He had previously occupied various positions in the party including chairman of the

Newberry County Newberry County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 37,719. Its county seat is Newberry. The name is of unknown origin. Newberry County comprises the Newberry, SC Micropolitan St ...

Republican Party and delegate to the

2004 Republican National Convention The 2004 Republican National Convention took place from August 30 to September 2, 2004 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The convention is one of a series of historic quadrennial meetings at which the Republican candidates fo ...

. In the run-up to the 2012 Republican primary season, Connelly argued against an early primary in Florida. Ultimately, South Carolina held its primary on January 21, ten days before the primary in Florida. On May 4, 2013, Connelly was re-elected to a second two-year term. After his re-election, Reince Priebus tapped him to become the first-ever National Director of Faith Engagement for the RNC. From July 2013 through the 2016 elections, he traveled to 42 states and spoke to over 82,000 pastors, priests, and faith leaders about the importance of their involvement in the public arena. He resigned the RNC position in Fall 2017 to go back to run his own ministry organization, Faith Wins. He is the author of ''Freedom Tide'' (), a book dedicated to inspiring Americans about the true Christian heritage of the nation. He is the founder and president of the Faith Wins, a Christian-based 501 c3 organization dedicated to educating and mobilizing pastors and faith leaders to become involved in the public arena and insure that their congregations vote Biblical values. He was a frequent speaker at Tea Party events. He is a regular commentator on

Fox News Channel The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

CNBC CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk sho ...

, and

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

as well as many other outlets in the United States. He serves on the board of the

Palmetto Family Council Palmetto Family Council is a nonprofit public policy organization focused upon implementing conservative Christian ideas in South Carolina state law, especially concerning sexual morality. It opposes same-sex marriage, sex education, and vaccina ...

and the South Carolina Citizens for Life.

Personal life

He lives in

Prosperity, South Carolina Prosperity is a town in Newberry County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 1,180 at the 2010 census. History Before being named Prosperity, the area was called Frog Level due to its low-lying location and large numbers of frogs li ...

with his wife Dana and their four children.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Connelly, Chad 1963 births Living people People from Prosperity, South Carolina Clemson University alumni South Carolina Republicans State political party chairs of South Carolina 2012 United States presidential electors Southern Baptists