Perhaps the most important local Statehouse election of the season is for a gerrymandered state Senate seat that stretches from Johns Island to Ravenel and Walterboro and then swings northeast to Ridgeville.
It’s Senate District 41 where freshman S.C. Republican House member Matt Leber faces newcomer Democratic candidate Rita Adkins.
The choice for a strong democracy is clear: Adkins, a mother of four daughters, brings a fresh perspective to politics. In a time when women and their health continue to be threatened by a legislature filled with men who want to tell them what to do with their bodies, a strong candidate like Atkins will, as she says, “protect and advance women’s rights, including equal pay, reproductive rights and access to health care. Ensuring fairness and opportunity for women is essential to a more equitable society.”
Meanwhile, Leber represents a clear threat to a functioning democracy, in our view, for refusing to be accountable, continually not engaging with media as a candidate or elected member of the Statehouse. He sneers at voters by wearing the divisive, opportunistic cloak of MAGA politics. An elected leader who won’t engage for the good of all people doesn’t deserve to be in a leadership position.
Other voters in Charleston County have two outstanding Senate candidates from which to pick: Ed Sutton in the West Ashley–centric District 20 and Julie Cofer Hussey in coastal District 43 from Awendaw to Fripp Island in Beaufort County. Both are Democrats.
Sutton, an Air Force Reserve pilot and real estate developer who is changing the business face of North Charleston, is a breath of fresh air with his positivity and dedication to public service.
Hussey, head of a family real estate management company, is a longtime communicator dedicated to involving the public in public issues. “We deserve a leader who cares about our coastal environment AND the women who live here,” she says.
Charleston County voters also have several good S.C. House candidates from which to choose. We recommend:
- House 80 (East Cooper): Donna Brown Newton, a Democrat and retiree with a pro-women and pro-public education platform.
- House 110 (James Island-Downtown-Mount Pleasant): John Moffett, a Democrat pushing for solutions to climate and public education threats.
- House 114 (West Ashley to Summerville): Adrienne Lett, a Democrat and civil engineer who wants the state to have better infrastructure.
- House 115 (Folly Beach to Seabrook Island): Incumbent Spencer Wetmore, a Democrat with a solid record of getting things done.
- While incumbents in four races did not return endorsement surveys, we can recommend three Democrats — J.A. Moore of North Charleston in House District 15, Wendell Gilliard of House District 111 and Leon Stavrinakis of House District 119 — as well as Republican Joe Bustos of House District 112.
- Neither candidate for House District 116 in the Hollywood-Ravenel area completed our survey, but we cannot in good conscience endorse the MAGA-related candidacy of Republican newcomer James Teeple. We encourage House 116 voters to cast ballots for Lowcountry native Charlie Murray.
Voting in our democracy is a precious right. Make the most of it this year.
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