Rod Shealy

While running a campaign to elect his sister Sherry Martschink to Lieutenant Governor in 1990, Shealy, with the help of Robert Kohn, recruited unemployed black fisherman Benjamin Hunt, Jr. to run for Congress against Republican Arthur Ravenel, Jr. Shealy sought to increase the turnout of white voters by playing to the racial fears of the South Carolina electorate. He promised Hunt, who had a prior drug arrest, $900 to run for Congress[9] and paid for his $2414 filing fee. Shealy paid for the fees with an unreported $5000 campaign contribution to his sister from Laidlaw Environmental Services.[10][11]

Hunt's campaign was investigated by the solicitor's office, the FBI and the State Law Enforcement Division.[9] Once the masquerade was uncovered, the story gained widespread media attention. At Shealy's trial, former state Representative Robert Kohn testified that he was asked by Shealy to find a black man to run against Ravenel.[12] Shealy was convicted for violating campaign laws and fined $500.[4] Hunt said that he never received the money he was promised in exchange for running.[12] Shealy later referred to the fine as a "political parking ticket" and claimed it had a positive effect on his consulting business.[13] The incident prompted a rewrite of South Carolina’s ethics laws.[14]

After the scandal, Shealy temporarily stopped working as a political consultant and developed a chain of newspapers. After a rival newspaper owner announced that he was running for state treasurer in 1994, Shealy stepped back into consulting to find a candidate to run against him.[4]

Shealy's satirical newsletter, Gamecock Fever,[15] drew criticism in 1991 and 1992 for its depiction of "CockWheat," a cartoon character that combined the features of Cocky, the mascot of the University of South Carolina and Buckwheat, the character from Our Gang. The CockWheat character was referred to as "U.S.C.'s Token Black Mascot" in an issue of Gamecock Fever that was distributed before a USC football game. Student leaders at the University deemed the character derogatory and called for Shealy to stop publishing the newsletter, which contains slurs against Asian, black and Hispanic students.[11][13]

Trey Walker, the field director for John McCain's 2000 presidential campaign, spoofed Shealy's email in 2002, when Larry Richter, Shealy's candidate for Attorney General was running against Walker's candidate, Henry McMaster. Walker sent an email that looked as if it came from one of Shealy's publications and contained allegations of a land deal between a drug dealer and Richter.[16]

In 2003-04, Shealy was one of the political consultants hired by Thomas Ravenel of Charleston in his unsuccessful multimillion-dollar run in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate.

In 2006, Shealy ran the Republican primary campaign of André Bauer for lieutenant governor.

In 2007, Shealy represented SC Rep. Henry Brown, Jr. in his 1st District Race and SC State Senator Dick Elliot in his Senate Campaign for the 2008 elections.

Shealy hired Will Folks in 2006 to work on the campaign of former State Treasurer Thomas Ravenel.[17]

In 2008, Shealy worked on the campaign of State Senator Catherine Ceips. Tom Davis, the former chief of staff to Mark Sanford was expected to announce that he would be running against Ceips. Davis' house was being painted at the time. Ceips' chief of staff, Randy Bates, arrived at the house and spoke with Josias Mirales Ayala, who claimed to be an illegal immigrant hired to paint Davis' house. Shealy subsequently submitted a photograph of Ayala to Associated Press reporter Jim Davenport and explained that he was an illegal alien. Davis condemned the action, saying "I call on Ms. Ceips to fire Rod Shealy and Randy Bates, the two operatives who carried out this dirty trick."[18][19]