John M. Knotts, Jr. | |
---|---|
Member of the South Carolina Senate from the 23rd district | |
In office 2002–2012 | |
Preceded by | Joe Wilson |
Succeeded by | Katrina Shealy |
Member of the South CarolinaHouseofRepresentatives from the 88th district | |
In office 1994–2002 | |
Preceded by | C. Lenoir Sturkie |
Succeeded by | Mac Toole |
Personal details | |
Born | West Columbia,South Carolina | December 12,1944
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Betty Lee |
Profession | law enforcement |
John M. "Jake" Knotts,Jr. (born December 12,1944) is a former Republican member of the South Carolina Senate,representing the 23rd District from 2002 to 2012. Previously he was a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1994 through 2002.
Knotts was born in December 1944 in West Columbia,South Carolina,the son of John Milton,Sr. and Dovereen Jessie (Williams) Knotts. [1] He was the child of a poverty-stricken family and raised as Jakie Webster until he was told his real name at age 12. [2] Knotts served in the Navy. [3] Following his service,Knotts worked as a police officer for the Columbia Police Department,a detective,and an assistant coroner before entering politics. [3] Knotts married Betty Lee in 1965, [1] [4] with whom he has two children,Michelle Nicole and Tara Marie. [4]
Knotts was a prominent critic of governor and fellow Republican Mark Sanford and was a leading critic of the governor following his disappearance and admission of an extramarital affair. [5] [6]
Knotts was defeated for re-election in the 2012 general election by Katrina Shealy,a Republican petition candidate who he had defeated in the 2008 Republican primary.
Knotts served on the following committees in the state senate: [1]
On June 3,2010,Knotts used the word "raghead" to describe President Barack Obama and Republican gubernatorial candidate (and fellow Lexington County resident) Nikki Haley while appearing on a live broadcast of Pub Politics. Several people present at the political talk show's broadcast confirmed Knotts said "We already got one raghead in the White House,we don’t need a raghead in the governor's mansion." [7] Haley was raised as a Sikh and later converted to Christianity. Haley has stated she attends services of both faiths. [7]
Other South Carolina Republicans were quick to distance themselves from Knotts and called for an apology. [8] Knotts later issued a statement,saying,"Since my intended humorous context was lost in translation,I apologize. I still believe Ms Haley is pretending to be someone she is not,much as Obama did,but I apologize to both for an unintended slur." [9] Haley campaign manager Tim Pearson called Knotts "an embarrassment to our state and to the Republican Party." [10]
After Knotts' controversial remarks,former Lexington County Republican Party chairwoman Katrina Shealy announced a primary candidacy to challenge Jake Knotts in 2012. [11] On June 10,the Lexington County Republican Party voted to censure Knotts and asked him to resign from office,by a vote of 26 to 7. [12] Knotts reiterated that he would not resign,saying "I'm truly,deeply sorry I used those words and there was no intention for them to be interpreted to be prejudice." [12]
In a 2021 interview,Knotts said again that Haley "wasn't a real Christian" and had "converted for political purposes". [13]
Marshall Clement "Mark" Sanford Jr. is an American politician and author who served as the U.S. representative for South Carolina's 1st congressional district from 1995 to 2001 and again from 2013 to 2019,and also as the 115th governor of South Carolina from 2003 to 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party.
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The 2010 South Carolina gubernatorial election took place on November 2,2010. Incumbent Republican Governor Mark Sanford was term limited and unable to seek re-election. Primary elections took place on June 8,2010,and a runoff election,as was necessary on the Republican side,was held two weeks later on June 22.
Nimarata Nikki Haley is an American politician and diplomat who served as the 116th governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017 and as the 29th U.S. ambassador to the United Nations from January 2017 to December 2018. A Republican,Haley is the first Indian American to serve in a presidential cabinet. She was a candidate in the 2024 Republican Party presidential primaries. Upon winning the Washington,D.C. presidential primary on March 3,2024,Haley became the first woman to prevail in a Republican Party presidential primary.
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Rod Shealy Sr. was a Republican political consultant and publisher from Lexington County,South Carolina. He worked on numerous campaigns as a political strategist,including those of AndréBauer,Jim DeMint,Jake Knotts,Lindsey Graham,and George W. Bush. Shealy worked with Lee Atwater in the early 1970s and gained notoriety for negative campaigning.
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Katrina Frye Shealy is an American politician,and a member of the South Carolina State Senate. She is a Republican but was elected as a petition candidate from District 23 in Lexington County. At the time of her election in 2012,she was the only woman in the South Carolina Senate but as of May 2023,she is now one of six women currently serving in the South Carolina State Senate.
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