Spartanburg County Republican Party Officers
Chairman Curtis Smith
Curtis has successfully led Spartanburg County GOP since March 2018. He is a former precinct President and delegate to County and State conventions. His first campaign was for Barry Goldwater in 1964. Curtis is a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel, and a retired General Manager of Marketing and Manufacturing with Union Camp and Packaging Corporation of America. He and his wife, Nancy, live in Inman. He is a father, grandfather and mentor of many young people starting out in their careers.
National Committeewoman Alexia Newman
Alexia has been the Spartanburg GOP Committeeman since 2017. She is a former Abbeville County GOP Chairman, two-term State First Vice Chairman, State Platform Committee Chairman and County Resolutions Committee member, Precinct Committeeman and President. Alexia has worked on various local, State and national campaigns. She is the Director of the Carolina Pregnancy Center in Spartanburg.
First Vice Chairman Jarred Spencer
Jarred has been the 1st Vice Chairman since 2017. He has served on the Cowpens Town Council since 2010. Jarred was a delegate to 4th District and State Conventions and an alternate to the 2016 Republican National Convention. He has worked on local and National campaigns. Jarred served as the Cowpens Depot Museum Precinct Committeeman and President. He and his wife, Amber, have two daughters and live in Cowpens.
Vice Chairman Lisa Watson
Lisa was elected Vice Chairman in 2019. She was a delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention. She was the Spartanburg County Chairman for Ralph Norman for Congress in the 2017 Special election and the 2018 General election and has worked on many other local, State, and National campaigns. Lisa is a board member of the Freedom Works Advisory Board, on the National Campaign Committee for the Federation of Republican women and membership Chair and campaign Chair for Palmetto House Republican Women. Since 2002, she has been the precinct Committeeman or President for Hope/Hendrix precincts. She and her husband, Chip, live in Spartanburg.
Vice Chairman Barry D. Bell
Barry was elected Vice Chairman in 2019. He was a candidate for Congressional District 4 in 2018 and is the Secretary of Landrum High School Precinct. He served four years in the U.S. Marine Corps and more than four years as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Army. Barry was deployed to Afghanistan in the Kandahar province and left the Army as a Captain in 2010. He has a master’s in business administration and is a Robot Process Automation Department Manager for Dixon Hughes Goodman. He and his wife, Jessica have four children and live in Campobello.
Recording Secretary Debbie Baker
Debbie was elected Recording Secretary in 2019. She was Campaign Finance manager for George Moxley, for Georgia House Seat 178 and a legislative aide to former State Representative Dill Blackwell of Greenville. Debbie was a delegate to the 2015 State convention, is the current Gramling precinct President and was the precinct Secretary 2015-19. Debbie serves on the board of Palmetto House Republican Women as the Public Relations coordinator. For the past 20 years, she has been the owner of Bellwether Executive Search, Inc., a recruiting company for engineer and technology professionals. She and her husband, Gordon, and son live in Campobello.
Treasurer William Crawford
William was elected Treasurer on September 19, 2019 and previously elected in 2019 as Vice Chairman. He is the Committeeman for Boiling Springs Elementary School precinct. William is a board member of the Upstate Family Resource Center, and Chairman of the Boiling Springs School Improvement Council. He is also active in State and Federal legislative policy work as a Past President of the Self-Storage Association of South Carolina and a Volunteer Advocacy Ambassador for Autism Speaks. He is a small business owner, operating self-storage facilities and other real estate holdings in the Upstate area. William and his wife, Crystal, have two sons and live in Boiling Springs.
Communications Director Nancy Buyarski Dunn
Nancy was appointed Communications Director in 2018 and is responsible for media coordination, social media and public involvement communications. Nancy is an experienced public communications consultant. She worked for the Army as an officer and as a civilian, specializing in media relations and public communications. Nancy has served on the boards of community and national nonprofit organizations since 1998. She is one of the founders of the Friends of the Army Women’s Museum Association, a nonprofit to financially support the U.S. Army Women’s Museum. Nancy is a retired Army colonel.