State & Regional Interest	Tuesday, April 13, 2004
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Myrtle Beach senator Luke Rankin to switch to GOP (Published March 16‚ 2004) COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Myrtle Beach state Sen. Luke Rankin plans to switch to the Republican Party, state GOP officials said Tuesday. Rankin has served District 33 as a Democrat since 1993. In an open letter to the residents of Horry County, Rankin wrote that he has considered which party affiliation would allow him to best serve his constituents. "Because of recent rules changes in the South Carolina Senate, which require key leadership positions and committee assignments based on party affiliation as well as seniority, I am now certain that the needs of Horry County can be better served if I am a member of the majority party," Rankin wrote. Republicans in 2000 took control of the Legislature for the first time since Reconstruction. The leadership then changed the Senate's long-held seniority system. In the past, seniority mattered as senators outlasted each other to gain power through committee chairmanships. Chairmanships now are handed out first by party, then by seniority.

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