Luke Rankin says his seniority helps Horry County; Autry Benton disagrees. Who’s right?
Myrtle Beach is growing at an exceptional pace the policy decisions made about the Grand Strand today could impact residents for decades to come.
As populations grow, infrastructure, roads, and energy capacity must adapt to meet the needs of new residents. Climate change and more frequent severe weather will impact Grand Stranders’ pocketbooks, and protecting their interests will become more critical, particularly if development-associated flooding worsens.
Politicians and elected officials will steer these choices in the Palmetto state’s capital in Columbia. At this pivotal juncture, Horry County residents face a primary vote to help decide who represents them in the South Carolina State Senate.
Residents of parts of Myrtle Beach and Conway go to the ballot box June 11, 2024, to vote in the Republican Primary for the 33rd state senate district— the election pits 30-year incumbent Luke Rankin against challenger current Conway City Councilmen and businessman Autry Benton.
Historically, Rankin has faced minimal challengers in the general election aside from occasional write-in votes. With no Democratic Primary occurring, the winner of the Republican Primary will decide who goes to Columbia to represent the 33rd District in the state senate.
The election is a case of who voters believe will be most effective. Rankin believes his seniority and relationships in the statehouse give him an edge in steering resources to the Grand Strand. Rankin added that re-electing him gives Myrtle Beach and Conway residents more political clout in Columbia to better serve their interests, as opposed to Benton, who Rankin said would need to spend years in the statehouse before gaining the influence he has now.
For Benton, Rankin’s tenure has not delivered for Horry County residents during his office and is too focused on judicial appointments. In contrast, Benton says he’ll focus more on bringing money to the Grand Strand. to help with infrastructure projects.
Where do Luke Rankin and Autry Benton stand on the issues that impact Conway and Myrtle Beach, SC?
Benton’s campaign revolves around three policy items: judicial and civil liability reform, improving infrastructure, and securing more funding for projects from the state house.
Regarding judicial reform, Benton wants to overhaul judge selection in South Carolina. According to the South Carolina Bar, legislatures currently pick judges deemed qualified by a commission. For Benton; judges should get elected by voters instead.
“We’re able to vote for the president of the United States,” Benton said. “Certainly, we should be able to choose from a qualified list of judges who we want to judge us.”
Benton added that he would also push for more state funding for Horry County infrastructure projects if elected. He added that most infrastructure funding comes from local taxes, and Horry County could do even more road projects if it secured more state funding.
“Senator Rankin has spent the majority of his time appointing judges on the Judiciary Committee,” Benton said. “He hasn’t really addressed the issues that we have in Horry County, which is roads and infrastructure.”
Benton’s plan to obtain additional funding would involve requesting a seat on the state senate’s finance committee to help steer more funds toward Horry County for infrastructure projects. Benton added that he also favors changing South Carolina civil liability laws to put the burden of disputes on those deemed at fault.
As for his record and plans for the future, Rankin took credit for helping to kill NextEra Energy’s deal to buy Santee Cooper, which he said would’ve hurt Horry County residents, balancing the budget, and lowering personal income taxes.
He added that his seniority in the statehouse will help him to continue passing legislation that benefits Horry County, something his opponent won’t be able to do for years.
“Being in a leadership position, you can bring more money home to your area for roads, for schools, and for projects that we’ve had here, across the county itself, and particularly in District 33,” He said. “I’m proud to have been able to show the folks of Horry County that seniority does pay off.”
If re-elected, Rankin added that he would work towards adding to the area’s power and energy generation capacity and infrastructure to ensure that rolling blackouts don’t become a problem as Horry County grows. Rankin also said he wants to work on legislation protecting residents from exorbitant insurance premiums other coastal areas, like Florida, face regarding home and flood insurance.
South Carolina had an influx of residents from Florida who moved to the Grand Strand, as the Palmetto states faced less extreme weather.
For Rankin, much of Benton’s criticisms fall flat. Rankin, the chairman of the S.C. state senate’s judiciary committee, said the state house has no appetite for making judge appointments by-election. He added that partisan judge elections often cause conflicts of interest and the appearance of corruption.
“We have historically avoided that because we’ve heard experts tell us that the states where the most problems have occurred with a public election of the judges is violation of campaign finance laws,” Rankin said. “A number of states where folks just violate campaign finance laws, and you go before the judge in those states, you better have made a big campaign contribution to their election.”
Indeed, the statehouse is already looking at reforming judicial appointments. Furthermore, Rankin said one does not simply request to get on the finance committee, as Benton suggested—seniority decides who is appointed. Rankin added that Horry County’s delegation already has two members on the finance committee.
“The most senior member on that committee, before he becomes chair of that committee, he’s going to have to wait for 10 sitting senators to either retire, be defeated or die,” Rankin added.
Rankin also defended his record on steering resources to projects within Horry County. He claimed he helped bring $40 million to the county two years ago and assisted Horry Georgetown Technical College, Coastal Carolina, the City of Myrtle Beach and Conway.
Rankin also downplayed Benton’s criticisms about bringing in money for infrastructure from the state level, saying it’s impractical to rely on additional funding from the state level to push forward new projects.
He added that the county plans to begin more than five billion dollars worth of infrastructure projects in the next five years and that much of the revenue paid for the projects comes from tourists.
“The idea, as nice as it might sound, somebody else needs to pay for our way (which) is like waiting for the Great Pumpkin in the Charlie Brown series,” Rankin said. “That Great Pumpkin ain’t coming to pay for roads that we desperately need.”
