Dwight Loftis | |
---|---|
Member of the South Carolina Senate from the 6th district | |
Assumed office March 27, 2019 | |
Preceded by | William Timmons [1] |
Succeeded by | Jason Elliott |
Member of the South CarolinaHouseofRepresentatives from the 19th district | |
In office January 24,1996 –March 27,2019 | |
Preceded by | Mike Fair [2] |
Succeeded by | Patrick Haddon [3] |
Personal details | |
Born | Greenville County,South Carolina,U.S. | February 4,1943
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Sandra Elaine Jones (m. 1963) |
Children | 3 |
Education | North Greenville University (AA, 1966) |
Profession | Insurance agent, politician |
Dwight A. Loftis (born February 4, 1943) is an American politician and insurance agent from South Carolina. A member of the South Carolina Senate since 2019, he previously represented district 19 in the South Carolina House of Representatives for 23 years from 1996 to 2019. He is a member of the Republican party.
Since 2019, Loftis has represented South Carolina's 6th Senate District (a portion of Greenville County). He was first elected during a special election when incumbent William Timmons succeeded Trey Gowdy in representing South Carolina's 4th Congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. [1] In 2023, Loftis announced he would retire and not seek reelection. [4] [5]
Loftis opposes to gay marriage and strongly supports marriage as defined between a man and woman. [6] He voted to keep the Confederate Flag flying above the South Carolina Statehouse. [7] He is a strong supporter of "law and order," the second amendment, and South Carolina's "heartbeat bill," restricting abortion after six-weeks. [8]
Loftis resides in Greenville, South Carolina with his wife Sandra. They have three children. Loftis first obtained an Associate degree from North Greenville University (then, North Greenville College) in 1966. He was an insurance agent, but has since retired. [9]
Loftis has been an active member of the Greenville community, particularly on issues of crime and education. He is a board member and past president of the Crime Stoppers of Greenville, and has held positions such as:
Year | Office | Type | Party | Main opponent | Party | Votes for Loftis | Result | Swing | Ref. | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total | % | P. | ±% | |||||||||||||
1996 | S.C. Representative | General | Republican | Johnnie S. Fulton | Democratic | 4,992 | 56.48% | 1st | N/A | Won | Hold | [10] | ||||
1998 | General | Republican | Write-in | N/A | 6,224 | 97.69% | 1st | +41.21% | Won | Hold | [11] | |||||
2000 | General | Republican | Debbie Hill | Democratic | 6,126 | 66.02% | 1st | -31.67% | Won | Hold | [12] | |||||
2002 | General | Republican | Write-in | N/A | 6,441 | 97.80% | 1st | +31.78% | Won | Hold | [13] | |||||
2004 | General | Republican | Luanne M. Taylor | Democratic | 7,746 | 72.14% | 1st | -25.66% | Won | Hold | [14] | |||||
2006 | General | Republican | Write-in | N/A | 5,991 | 98.89% | 1st | +26.75% | Won | Hold | [15] | |||||
2008 | General | Republican | Write-in | N/A | 9,205 | 98.58% | 1st | -0.31% | Won | Hold | [16] [17] | |||||
2010 | General | Republican | Write-in | N/A | 6,467 | 98.60% | 1st | +0.02% | Won | Hold | [18] | |||||
2012 | General | Republican | Write-in | N/A | 9,213 | 97.90% | 1st | -0.70% | Won | Hold | [19] | |||||
2014 | General | Republican | Write-in | N/A | 6,492 | 98.62% | 1st | +0.72% | Won | Hold | [20] | |||||
2016 | General | Republican | Write-in | N/A | 10,379 | 98.56% | 1st | -0.06% | Won | Hold | [21] | |||||
2018 | General | Republican | Carrie Counton | Democratic | 6,744 | 61.16% | 1st | -37.40% | Won | Hold | [22] | |||||
2019 | S.C. Senate | Rep. primary | Republican | Amy Ryberg Doyle | Republican | 3,528 | 55.41% | 1st | N/A | Won | N/A | [23] [1] | ||||
Special | Republican | Tina Belge | Democratic | 4,440 | 55.64% | 1st | N/A | Won | Hold | [24] | ||||||
2020 | General | Republican | Hao Wu | Democratic | 33,300 | 65.13% | 1st | N/A | Won | Hold | [8] [25] | |||||
South Carolina's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district in western South Carolina bordering both Georgia and North Carolina. It includes all of Abbeville, Anderson, Edgefield, Greenwood, Laurens, McCormick, Oconee, Pickens, and Saluda counties and portions of Greenville and Newberry counties. The district is mostly rural, but much of the economy revolves around the manufacturing centers of Anderson and Greenwood. With a Cook Partisan Voting Index rating of R+21, it is the most Republican district in South Carolina.
South Carolina's 4th congressional district is a congressional district in upstate South Carolina bordering North Carolina. It includes parts of Greenville and Spartanburg counties. The district includes the two major cities of Greenville and Spartanburg.
The South Carolina Green Party is a ballot-qualified political party in the state of South Carolina. It is the state affiliate party of the Green Party of the United States.
Daniel Byron "Danny" Verdin III is a member of the South Carolina Senate, representing District 9. In November 2008, he was chosen as majority whip.
Thomas C. Alexander is an American businessman and politician. Since 2021, he has served as the second President of the South Carolina Senate. A member of the Republican Party, he has represented South Carolina's 1st Senate District since 1994 and has represented parts of Oconee County, specifically the city of Walhalla, for over forty years.
C. Bradley Hutto is an American politician currently serving as a Democratic member of the South Carolina Senate, representing Senate District 40 since 1996. He is the Democratic Minority Leader in the Senate, succeeding Nikki Setzler on November 17, 2020.
Harvey Smith Peeler Jr. is an American politician. He is a member of the South Carolina Senate, representing the 14th District from since the 1980s, initially as a Democrat, and from October 1989, as a Republican. He was the Senate Majority Leader from 2005 to 2016 and President of the Senate from 2019 to 2021. In 2021, he became Chair of the Finance Committee after the death of Hugh Leatherman.
Curtis M. Loftis Jr. is an American politician, businessman and philanthropist. He currently serves as the Treasurer of South Carolina. A member of the Republican Party, Loftis has held elective office since 2010.
Michael Wayne Gambrell is an American politician and businessman who has represented South Carolina's 4th Senate District since 2016. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the South Carolina House of Representatives from the 7th District from 2006 to 2016.
The Alliance Party of South Carolina, known as the American Party of South Carolina until 2018, is a third party in the United States.
William Richardson Timmons IV is an American attorney, entrepreneur, and politician serving as the U.S. representative for South Carolina's 4th congressional district since 2019. His district is in the heart of the Upstate and includes Greenville, Spartanburg, and most of their suburbs. A member of the Republican Party, Timmons served as a South Carolina state senator from 2016 to 2018.
Joseph Kendrick Cunningham is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for South Carolina's 1st congressional district from 2019 to 2021. The district includes much of South Carolina's share of the Atlantic Coast, from Charleston to Hilton Head Island.
Karl B. Allen is a Democratic member of the South Carolina Senate, representing the state's 7th Senate District since 2012. Previously, he served the 25th House District in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 2001 to 2012. He is an attorney.
The 2016 South Carolina Senate elections took place as part of the biennial United States elections. South Carolina voters elected state senators in all 46 districts. State senators serve four-year terms in the South Carolina Senate, with all the up for election each cycle.
Rex Fontaine Rice is an American politician and businessman currently serving as the senator for South Carolina's 2nd Senate District, a position he has held since 2016. He previously served as the representative for House District 26 in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1994 to 2010. Known for his fiscal conservatism, Rice has advocated for state control over education and environmental issues, the repeal of the No Child Left Behind Act, and the abolition of income tax in favor of increased sales taxes. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Thomas D. Corbin is an American businessman and politician. Since 2012, he has served as a member of the South Carolina Senate from the 5th District. Prior to that, he served for two years as a member in the South Carolina House of Representatives from the 17th District. He is a member of the Republican party.
Scott F. Talley is an American politician. He is a member of the South Carolina Senate from the 12th District (Spartanburg), serving since 2016. Previously, he served the 34th House District in the South Carolina House of Representatives. He is a member of the Republican party.
The 2020 South Carolina State Senate elections took place as part of the biennial 2020 United States elections. South Carolina voters elected state senators in all 46 senate districts. State senators serve four-year terms in the South Carolina Senate, with all of the seats up for election each cycle. The primary elections on June 9, 2020, determined which candidates appeared on the November 3, 2020, general election ballot.
The 2022 South Carolina House of Representatives election took place on November 8, 2022, as part of the biennial United States elections. South Carolina voters elected state representatives in all 124 of the state's house districts. Republicans flipped eight seats held by Democrats, while Democrats flipped one seat held by a Republican; with their majority expanded by a net gain of seven seats, Republicans achieved a supermajority in the chamber.
The 2024 South Carolina Senate election will be held on November 5, 2024, alongside the 2024 United States elections. Primary elections will take place on June 11, 2024.