Our History

History of the Scotland County Republican Party

Scotland County is a region steeped in Scottish heritage and history. As early as the 1720s, the Highland Scots made up the largest portion of emigrants that colonized this section of the royal colony of North Carolina. The political beginning for Scotland County came when the legislature of North Carolina created the new county in 1899, formed entirely from Richmond County. Laurinburg, chartered in 1877, is the governmental seat for Scotland County. Its namesake is linked to the McLaurin family, a notable Scottish clan that accompanied the early Highland settlers. East Laurinburg, Wagram, Old Hundred, Hasty, Laurel Hill, Gibson, and Johns Station are other Scotland County communities. 

The main reason given for the movement to break away from Richmond County was that the county seat, Rockingham, was too far from the eastern part of the county. However, there seems to have been other factors at work, including a strong red shirt movement in the east, and much dissatisfaction with the majority Republican county government in Rockingham. The goal of the Red Shirts was to restore full and total power to the Democratic party. The Red Shirts intimidated black voters by threat and outright attack, and at one point practically eliminated the black vote in the state. A petition opposing the formation of Scotland County was circulated in the legislature of 1895 by Richmond County opponents of the separation, and in the petition attention was called to the small number of Republicans who voted in Laurinburg. The accusation was that the number was so small because of intimidation in the heavily Democratic town. One sentence read: Laurinburg, in politics, ought to be called Rottenburg.

The act to split the county finally passed in 1899, and the Democratic county government flexed their political muscle. In that time, the town of Laurinburg was notorious for intimidating Republican voters and throwing out their ballots. Scotland continued to be one of the most reliably Democratic counties in the state, and polled as “strongly Democrat” throughout the 20th Century. Long-time members of the current Scotland County GOP still remember a time when citizens weren’t even offered a Republican ballot. By the 2000s, many politicians simply wrote off the county, claiming a Republican victory in Scotland would be all but impossible.

Against those odds however, a few brave patriots decided to officially establish the GOP in Scotland County in 2003. Some members were new to the area, and some were locals who were tired of the failed Democratic policies which caused a major loss of industry in the county. With $17 dollars in a paper bag, they began to meet in local establishments and quickly became known as one of the best organized and best chapters in the state according to Linda Daves, the NC Republican Party Chairwoman at the time. Several Republican leaders supported the growth of the young party, to include Representatives Robin Hayes and Richard Hudson. Eventually, through hard work, perseverance, (and popular fish fries even Democrats couldn’t resist), the party raised enough money to purchase a permanent headquarters in Laurinburg which is still in use today.

Through their efforts, the number of registered Democrats in Scotland County has diminished 21% since 2010, while the number of registered Republicans increased 18%. Despite still being outnumbered 3 to 1, Scotland County flipped narrowly Republican in 2020 for the first time in history. Scotland was labeled as “leaning conservative” with victories in several major races including those for US President, US Senate, NC Lt. Governor, NC Attorney General, NC Agricultural Commissioner, NC Insurance Commissioner, NC Treasurer, and the NC Senate. The 2022 election was even more demonstrable, as every single Republican that ran for office at the local and state level won their respective races, and six out of seven precincts voted solidly red.