South Carolina Republicans are preparing for new leadership at both the state and local levels in a party that has come to dominate state politics over the last decade...the party’s S.C. success also has emboldened party activists, leading some to expect stricter adherence to party doctrine and causing rifts between moderate and conservative wings of the party. Those divisions have been evident in county leadership races, as well as in more public disputes among lawmakers, and with Gov. Mark Sanford... In Lexington County, new chairman Rich Bolen credits activists inspired by former presidential candidate U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas for his election. Many of those new members see the party as a way to make statements — opposing the Federal Reserve system for instance — rather than the traditional purpose of winning elections, Bolen said... “The real battle in the GOP is between the Ron Paul supporters and the Religious Right,” said Kerry Wood, who owns Dark Horse Strategy Group in Spartanburg. “These are two distinct camps and they definitely have their differences but they share common ground in that the moderates are demonizing both camps, and both camps wish to run the moderates out of the GOP.”