COLUMBIA, S.C. — When South Carolina state Sen. Josh Kimbrell kicked off his campaign for governor inside of a restaurant in Inman, he brought out a table after his speech to sign a piece of paper.

It was the Moms for Liberty Parent Pledge, which he signed after promising to create an office of parental rights if he were elected governor.

“If I’m fortunate enough to be the governor, is I’m going to establish an office of parental rights under the Office of the Governor to ensure that you raise your kids, not the government,” Kimbrell said.

Moms for Liberty, a conservative leaning advocacy group started in Florida, with activists volunteering to run the organization, has grown its influence with chapters in 48 states. They first appeared in South Carolina in 2021, and have 16 active chapters and 4,000 members in the state.

The influence has grown so much that every announced GOP candidate for governor made early moves to sign the group’s parental pledge as if its an unofficial requirement to seek the Republican nomination. The pledge for candidates and elected officials is to honor fundamental rights of parents to direct education, medical care and moral upbringing of their children and push policies that defend against government overreach.

“I think it brings awareness to our message, more so than anything else that brings awareness to the parental rights. And let’s be honest, any platform that will bring the message of parents have the ultimate right or the ultimate ability to upbring in their kids, we’re going to applaud and accept greatly,” said Ashley Jones, the group’s state legislative chair.

The parental pledge is similar to a tactic used by Grover Norquist, the president of the Americans for Tax Reform. The organization’s Taxpayer Protection Pledge, which is a promise to oppose tax increases, has become a must sign pledge in Republican circles. Americans for For Tax Reform continues to maintain a database of which current elected officials have signed the pledge, which includes Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, Kimbrell, U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace and U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman. Attorney General Alan Wilson signed the pledge in August. All five are running for governor.

The Moms for Liberty post on its website who has signed its parental pledge.

According to Moms for Liberty, 23 other current Republican members of the General Assembly have signed the pledge, including state Sen. Wes Climer, who is running for Congress in the Fifth Congressional District, and state Rep. Jackie Terribile helped grow the York County Moms for Liberty chapter before being elected to the House.

State Superintendent of Education Ellen Weaver signed the pledge in September 2022, two months before she was elected to the office.

Five Republicans running in this month’s primaries for special elections also have signed on.

“I feel like they sign it because they do stand with with the parental rights. I don’t feel like it’s they have to,” said Jones, who lives in Florence County.

The group makes endorsements in local school board races, has pushed for parents rights to know about their children’s medical needs before they become legal adults and the right to decide whether their child has to receive a vaccine.

“We are here because we want to protect our kids, not and not just my kids. I want to protect all kids,” Jones said.

The group also has become synonymous with efforts to remove books from school libraries.

“I hate that everybody thinks that is a Moms for Liberty stigma, because its just we want our children to be safe in that school,” Jones said.

Groups like Moms for Liberty and Americans for Tax Reform are helpful for voters looking for a quick guide of where candidates stand.

“These groups provide an information shortcut. They’re able to open this umbrella so many subgroups fall under. I’m a parent concerned about the books, I’m a parent concerned about the vaccines,” said Scott Huffmon, director of the Winthrop University Poll. “Well, if I lump all these together, I can point to a candidate and say, ‘look at all these voters, you’re either going to turn loyal, or turn angry. The choice is up to you.’ ”

Even though the chapters are run locally by volunteers, it has a coordinated message across the country.

“You can find virtually the same language from Moms for Liberty groups across the country,” Huffmon said.

The group’s advocacy has grown to beyond school boards. They’re looking at legislation that’s filed in the Legislature and making suggestions to lawmakers.

“Because Moms for Liberty has a lot of weight and what’s happening, not just within the local chapters, but at the State House,” said Dawn Pierce, who runs the Lexington County chapter. “We look at so many bills, they could be 90 to 180 that we’re looking at, and we’re going through it with a fine tooth comb to see exactly what’s in there to protect our children and what we don’t like.”

“As a parent, we’re looking at language that could be potentially dangerous. And so checking the box (and) checking with us is because I think you’d rather more want us on your side than against you,” Pierce added.

Moms for Liberty says they’ve made necessary relationships to be successful in the state house.

“I think we’re able to do more on the legislative side based off of relationships that have been made that they know that we’re here just for the betterment of Our children and the future of the for them, rather than for us, to actually have political points,” Jones said.

Candidates for governor supportive of group

All five Republican candidates for governor have made sure to show they’re showing support for the group and signed the group’s parent pledge.

Wilson spoke at a Moms for Liberty event in August about keeping children safe while using technology with group’s co-founder Tiffany Justice. He called the attorney general’s office an office for parental rights, pointing to efforts stop mask mandates in schools during the COVID pandemic, or getting involved in litigation on cases from other states where parental rights are being threatened.

“We’re always going to stand up for parental rights,” Wilson said to the crowd. “I’ve joined on many letters to Congress asking them to promote laws that protect parental rights. I believe deeply that like the doctor-patient relationship should be the center of health care, the parent-child relationship should be the center in any education.”

Mace signed the pledge shortly after launching her campaign.

“Congresswoman Mace signed the Moms for Liberty parental pledge early because protecting children has always been a top priority. She’s the only candidate with a real record protecting our kids,” said Piper Gifford, a Mace campaign spokeswoman.

Evette signed her pledge a day after launching her bid.

“You have a lot of moms that have come together and said, ‘Yeah, I’m going to raise my children to the ideals and views that I think are right, and I challenge government to come in and tell me that you love my children more than I do.’ And I think that’s where it’s taken off,” Evette said in an interview about the growth of the group.

Norman signed his pledge several weeks before kicking off his campaign for governor, a decision that Norman’s team called a “no-brainer.”

“Congressman Norman believes strong families are the cornerstone of successful communities. Moms for Liberty advocates for parents to be the primary decision-makers for their children’s upbringing and have been quite successful in their important mission both here and nationwide,” Norman spokesman Evan Newman said. “As governor, Ralph Norman will stand with any organization that prioritizes parental rights.”

Even with the influence the group has gained and conservative candidates making sure they pay homage to it, Moms for Liberty does not plan to test how strong that political influence is state races in next year’s elections. Moms for Liberty, which has 4,000 members in the state, only endorses in the school board races, and has no plans to endorse in state legislative races or the governor’s race.

“If you endorse under the name of Moms for Liberty, how many of them are going to get mad and not agree with your endorsement?” Jones said.

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