Meet the Horry County statehouse primary candidates seeking party nominations
The June 9 South Carolina Statewide primaries are just around the corner. While this election season has been unlike any other, the democratic process continues despite an ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The Sun News sent a short questionnaire to all candidates seeking elected office this election season. Every candidate received the same questions emailed to the email they included in public election filing documents. Reporters with The Sun News took the answers and wrote summaries of the top priorities for each candidate, past political experience and what voters needed to know about the candidates.
This article includes just information for people running in contested party primaries. A full list of candidates seeking positions in November can be found on myrtlebeachonline.com and survey results from candidates not in a contested race may be used in future election stories.
Here are the candidates for South Carolina statehouse races:
District 68 - Republican Primary
Heather Ammons Crawford is a lifelong Horry County resident who has served in a variety of offices for the Republican party and South Carolina politics. She is proud to have secured funding for flood resilience surveys, a veterans nursing home and domestic violence shelter and road resurfacing road projects in the area. If re-elected, she wants to tackle the coronavirus recovery effort, continue to bring in state funding to help better understand and improve the frequent flooding issue in Horry County and work with the governor to get more resources to fight the opioid crisis. Her endorsements include Gov. Henry McMaster, the National Rifle Association and she was named a “Champion of Life” by the Palmetto Family Council. She is proud of having a reputation as a lawmaker willing to take on tough issues facing the area.
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Challenger Mark Epps is seeking the Republican nomination. You can learn more about him from his Facebook page.
District 105- Republican Primary
Incumbent Kevin Hardee, born in Loris, went from being on Horry County Council for seven years to serving in the statehouse since 2012. He is the co-owner of Coastal Carolina Remediation.The state does a good job at creating the yearly budget, he said, but South Carolina needs to cut regulations and laws that impede the small business community in the state and create red tape for citizens. If re-elected, he hopes to continue getting funding for flood mitigation research projects, like a diversion canal, hire more contractors to speed up road construction projects and make sure federal dollars given for the coronavirus recovery effort benefit local citizens. As a lifelong resident of his district, he believes he is able to relate to the residents and business community he serves.
Challenger Steve Robertson, former publisher of the Horry Independent, is seeking his first political office. He has made a career in the news industry and hopes to use his skills to listen to his constituents and relay their concerns to the statehouse. He wants to work with the statehouse to help Horry County recover from the coronavirus pandemic while assuring public health is maintained. Flooding is another major concern and ensuring statewide guidelines are put in place discouraging building in flood zones. Ultimately, Robertson hopes to ensure Horry County residents get a good return on their tax dollars and wants to use his skills as a communicator and businessman to advocate for new ideas.
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District 107 - Republican Primary
Incumbent Alan Clemmons, the founding attorney of his law firm, has served in the South Carolina Statehouse since 2003 and holds many prominent positions on committees and subcommittees. He prides himself on helping promote fiscal conservatism and giving small businesses financial relief while overseeing the committee on sales tax and income. If re-elected, his top priorities will be continuing to work with local governments to secure public safety funding, working to improve teacher pay and making sure they have adequate break time while at work and improving the amount of funds coming into the area for shovel-ready road building projects. He believes I-73 is critical for the area’s future and wants to continue working for its construction to begin. Ultimately, Clemmons said he has been recognized as an effective lawmaker and looks forward to another term of advocating for his constituents.
Challenger Case Brittain is a trial lawyer raised in Myrtle Beach who also serves as a youth coach for the YMCA. He served on the honor council at the Charleston School of Law, but if elected to state house this would be first office held. He believes statehouse leaders need to fight harder to ensure Horry County citizen are not shortchanged on their taxes and get more support from the state for education and infrastructure funding. For him, the statehouse is the perfect place to fight for the issues affecting his community. He is running to improve the educational offerings in Horry County, get more state funding for road projects so locals foot less of the bill and revitalize a diverse economy locally to put the “grand” back in “Grand Strand.” Ultimately, he hopes to build off his community relationships and bring a fresh set of eyes to the statehouse.
SC Senate District 30 - Democratic Primary
Incumbet Kent Williams is seeking re-election this season. You can learn more about him on his Facebook page.
Challenger Patrick Richardson grew up in the Britton’s Neck area of Marion County and is seeking office to help his district grow. If elected, this would be his first political office. He believes there needs to be more transparency and answers as to why the area hasn’t developed quicker. He works as a retail bank manager. He wants to bring higher-paying jobs to the area as a catalyst for improving the quality of life for residents. He believes partnering with community colleges and Coastal Carolina University is a great first step. As more jobs come, he hopes to improve small towns in his district and increase the public safety offerings in the area. Richardson has been a life-long religious man and believes when his constituents work together they can move mountains. He wants to bring his desire to do charitable works to the government and make his district a place where people are safe and have good jobs.
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SC Senate District 32 - Democratic Primary
Incumbent Ronnie A Sabb is seeking re-election. You can learn more about him on his Facebook page.
Challenger Manley Marvell Collins was born in Washington D.C., but grew up in South Carolina and now hopes to represent his community in the South Carolina Senate. He has worked as a substitute teacher. He’d like to see elected officials engage more directly with their community and organizations. He’d like to help increase the minimum wage in South Carolina to $15 by gradually raising it in an effort to fight poverty within his district and help voters afford their bills. In addition, he would like to find out how to get teachers duty-free breaks during the days. He is inspired by great American leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Nikki Haley, Colin Powell and George Washington. Meeting constituents is one of his favorite things to do.
Challenger Ted Brown, who previously served in the South Carolina House of Representatives, owns USA Eyeglass in Georgetown. If elected to the state senate, he wants to help the area economically recover from the coronavirus by improving job and health care opportunities in his district. He knows all areas are competing for resources right now and believes he can help win the area much needed funding to help those out of work. He said his record of bringing in funds for the Choppee Health Center shows he is able to bring in much needed support for his constituents. Ultimately he believes that if Georgetown’s leaders and citizens work together they can bring better jobs, more housing, health care offerings and economic benefits to both the young and senior citizens of the area.
Democrat Kelly Span is also running in this primary.
SC Senate District 33 - Republican Primary
Incumbent Luke Rankin is a longtime member of the South Carolina Senate and practices law at the firm his father founded in 1951. He aims to bring respect and understanding to politics, understanding he is not always going to agree with political opponents but welcomes the debate. He is concerned about a divisive tone in local politics and hopes local media step up to provide more fact-checking information. If re-elected, he hopes to continue bringing in road construction money for the area, make sure any action on selling Santee Cooper doesn’t cost the taxpayers more money on their electric bills and work with state and federal leaders to make sure Horry County has the resources to quickly recover from the coronavirus pandemic. Rankin tries to follow wisdom from Micah 6:8 to, “do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with my God.”
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Challengers Carter Smith and John Gallman are seeking the Republican nomination for this seat.
This story was originally published June 6, 2020 at 1:11 PM.
