Head of Horry County Schools announces run for Tom Rice’s seat in Congress

Ken Richardson, the chairman of the Horry County Schools Board of Education, announced Wednesday morning that he intends to run against Rep. Tom Rice for South Carolina’s 7th Congressional seat.

Richardson, elected as school board chairman in 2018, said in a news release that he would not seek reelection in 2022 but would instead be “100 percent dedicated to taking Tom Rice out of Congress.” Prior to serving as chairman at HCS, he served for 16 years as chairman of the Board of Trustees at Horry Georgetown Technical College.

The election for Rice’s seat will be held in 2022, and candidates will have to file by early spring of that year. The Republican primary, which is likely to determine the winner of the race, will be held several months later.

Richardson’s announcement comes as a field of candidates has lined up to challenge Rice, triggered by Rice’s vote on Jan. 13 to impeach former President Donald Trump. Rice has said he voted to impeach Trump because of his “lack of leadership” following a deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 that left five people dead and more injured. Rice has called that attack “an insurrection” and said he had a duty to hold Trump accountable to the U.S. Constitution.

But Republicans in his district — which stretches from Georgetown to the North Carolina line, and west to Chesterfield County — and across the state have been furious with his vote, saying he was wrong to turn against Trump at a critical moment. On Saturday, members of the South Carolina Republican Party voted to censure Rice over his vote. That move amounts to a formal rebuke of the congressman — and has no material consequences — but signals the deep displeasure with Rice for his vote.

Other candidates, including state Rep. William Bailey and state Rep. Russell Fry have previously announced they may run for Rice’s seat, too.

At a news conference Wednesday afternoon, Richardson said he’d do “the one thing that Tom Rice didn’t do.”

“I want to listen to the people and see what the people in my district want me to do,” he told reporters. “When I walk in a restaurant, I order unsweet tea. But if nine people are sitting at the table with me all order sweet tea, if I get to Washington and a vote comes up on tea, I’m gonna vote for the sweet tea, even though I might be an unsweet drinker.”

A former car salesman and owner of Fowler Motors, Richardson added that he wouldn’t have voted to impeach Trump and thinks Rice wasn’t listening to the will of his constituents when he voted for the impeachment. He also doesn’t believe Trump was responsible for inciting the riot on the Capitol, he said.

However, Richardson added, he wouldn’t necessarily be a politician in Trump’s mold. He believes Joe Biden was duly elected in November and said he’s willing to work with Democrats when needed.

“I didn’t agree with all his tweets, and some of the things he did, but he was my president and Joe Biden is my president now, and I understand that,” Richardson said. “I’m my own person and I’m a Republican.”

In his announcement, Richardson said education would be a key component of his platform. He said he wants to work to ensure that more federal education dollars flow to local school districts with fewer strings attached about how the district spends it. He also said that people at the local level, including parents, teachers and school board members, should have more input on a district’s curriculum.

“Education will continue to be a top priority of mine at the federal level,” Richardson said in the press release. “I believe what is taught in our schools is very important and I am willing to fight for top quality education across the nation.”

As the leader of Horry County’s schools during the COVID-19 pandemic, Richardson said he knows he’s had to make several tough choices, but that he hopes people will see him as a leader who did the right thing in a time of crisis.

“I’ve got parents who don’t want kids back in school, I’ve parents who want kids back in school. I’ve got teachers who want to be in school and I’ve got teachers who don’t want to be in school,” he said. “When you know you’re going to make 50% of the people mad anyway, really it makes it so simple for me. All I have to do is what’s right.”

Richardson said he also wouldn’t support construction of Interstate 73, unless his constituents told him to push for the project. Rather, he said, he’d like to see more funding for local road projects, including one that can help residents evacuate flooded areas during heavy storms.

“My thinking is this, Why do I need an interstate to get you here faster so you can sit in traffic longer?” he said. “Or, here’s a crazy thought, could we just fix some of our local roads? Maybe get some local work done before we think about I-73.”

Richardson, who is originally from Horry County, said he’s already staffed his campaign with locals, a key part of his promise to use local talent during his campaign. He said being dedicated to the people who live here is part of his philosophy.

“We’ve got good quality people living in the 7th Congressional District and I’m going to spend my money with them,” he said. “If I hire anyone, they’re going to be from here, I don’t want anyone from outside. I don’t need anyone coming from Columbia coming down here.”

Rice did not immediately return a phone call and text message seeking comment. However, in a series of tweets posted over the weekend, Rice defended his vote to impeach Trump.

“I personally witnessed an insurrection in the Capitol on Jan. 6. I saw the rioters who were demanding to hang Vice President Pence. I heard the gunshots and smelled the tear gas. I saw the President’s lack of leadership in not stopping the mob,” he wrote on Twitter. “I will not stand idly by, and ignore the oath I took before God, when the evidence is so clear. President Trump bears much of the responsibility for that attack.”

For his part, Richardson said he’s wanted to run for Congress since the 7th district was created in 2012. He also said he’s known since 2019 that he wanted to challenge Rice at some point. He said he thinks he has a good shot at the seat this cycle.

“The only person I do not want to come to Horry County and run for Congress is Donald Trump,” he said. “But anyone else here, including Tom Rice, I’m not scared of them.”

This story was originally published February 3, 2021 at 9:46 AM.