Former Horry County Council chairman seeks 7th Congressional seat

Another candidate officially entered the race Wednesday for the newly created 7th Congressional District seat.

Former Horry County Council chairman Chad Prosser announced his intent to run as a Republican candidate, according to a press release.

Prosser served on the County Council for more than eight years. In 2002, he was re-elected to a consecutive term as chairman, the release stated. When Mark Sanford was elected governor, he appointed Prosser director of the S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, a position he held for eight years.

He is currently a partner with Prosser Johnson LLC, a Garden City firm focused on helping small companies.

“We need solutions to get people back to work, and we’re not seeing that coming out of Washington these days,” Prosser said on Wednesday.

He added that out-of-control spending in Washington is the primary factor impeding economic growth in this country.

A native of the 7th District, Prosser grew up in Florence, and earned a master’s degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. He worked for the U.S. Department of Commerce International Trade Administration before returning to South Carolina, according to his announcement.

Locally, Prosser wants to see diversification in the economy by bringing in industries that aren’t tourism-related.

“I have a track record in both the public and private sectors of tackling the tough issues head on and I will bring that same tenacity to Washington,” he said.

Prosser joins fellow GOP hopefuls Andre Bauer, the former lieutenant governor; Murrells Inlet realtor Renee’ Culler; Florence attorney Jay Jordan; Myrtle Beach area businessman Jim Mader; Horry County Council Chairman Tom Rice; Myrtle Beach Councilman Randal Wallace; local author Mande Wilkes and Grand Strand area businessman Dick Withington.

The Democratic candidates are local attorneys Preston Brittain and Parnell Diggs; North Myrtle Beach businessman Gary Stephens; former Atlanta-area politician Gloria Tinubu; and state Rep. Ted Vick, from Chesterfield.