RINO Revenge: SC State House Republican Leaders Kill OTC Ivermectin Bill

South Carolina was poised to join several other Republican-led states by allowing Ivermectin to be purchased over the counter after consultation with a pharmacist. The legislation had already passed both the House and Senate by overwhelming margins.

Today, Republican leadership killed it.

While lawmakers returned to Columbia to finalize the state budget, they also took up unfinished business. In one of his final acts before retiring, House Majority Leader Davey Hiott (R-Pickens) moved to commiit the bill to the Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs Committee, a procedural move that effectively killed the legislation for the year.

The outcome was particularly striking given the bill’s path. On March 25, 2026, after clearing subcommittee and full committee (and after its sponsor agreed to compromises requested by House leadership) the bill finally reached the House floor following more than five weeks of delays. It passed 100-9. The Senate then fast-tracked the measure, approving it 38-3. When it returned to the House at the end of the regular session, Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter (D-Orangeburg) delayed final action, pushing the bill into the special session.

Between the close of regular session on May 18 and lawmakers’ return on June 25, Republican primary elections reshaped the political landscape. During those races, the bill’s sponsor, Freedom Caucus Rep. Jay Kilmartin (R-Lexington), endorsed several challengers to incumbent Republican legislators.

According to multiple sources, the House Republican Caucus’s closed-door meeting on June 25 centered almost entirely on members who had supported primary challengers. Freedom Caucus members are not allowed to attend these meetings because they declined to sign the caucus loyalty pledge.

One of the chief grievances discussed was Kilmartin’s endorsement of John Allen in the House District 69 primary against incumbent Rep. Chris Wooten (R-Lexington). Kilmartin and several Freedom Caucus members - and, in some cases, their spouses - also contributed to Allen’s campaign. Wooten ultimately won re-election.

Hiott, who himself first entered the House by defeating a Republican incumbent, reportedly made clear that supporting challengers to sitting House members would not be tolerated.

Hours later, he followed through by moving to commit the Ivermectin bill, ending its chances of becoming law. The motion succeeded after enough Republican members joined Democrats to send the legislation back to committee.

This year’s Republican primaries ended in a stalemate between the House Republican Caucus establishment and the Freedom Caucus. State Rep. Luke Rankin (R-Laurens) lost his bid for re-election, while Hunter Hackett replaced retiring state Rep. Ryan McCabe (R-Lexington).

Throughout the primary campaign, several incumbent Republicans dismissed criticism of their voting records or argued their votes had been taken out of context. Expect similar explanations following the decision to kill one of the session’s highest-profile medical freedom bills.

New day. Same politics. Same pettiness.

House Voting Board to Kill Ivermectin legislation H.4042.

House Majority Leader Davey Hiott (R-Pickens)