Richard Cash (politician)

Last updated

Marcia Williams
​
(m. 1985)​
Richard Cash
Member of the South Carolina Senate
from the 3rd district
Incumbent
Assumed office
2017
Children8
Alma mater Furman University (B.A., 1982)
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (MATS, 1990)
ProfessionBusinessman

Richard J. Cash (born March 31, 1960) is an American businessman and politician. He is a member of the Republican Party has served as a member of the South Carolina Senate from the 3rd District since 2017.

Contents

Early life and education

Cash was born on March 31, 1960 in Jacksonville, Florida to Thomas and Audrey Cash. [1] He graduated magna cum laude from Furman University in 1982 with a BA in business management. While there, he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. In 1990, he received a Master of Arts in Theological Studies (MATS) from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. [2]

S.C. Senate

Cash has represented the 3rd District (northern Anderson County) since 2017. He was elected during a special election to fill the unexpired term of Kevin L. Bryant, who vacated the seat after accepting the position of Lt. Governor of South Carolina. [3]

LGBT rights

Cash has an established history of anti-LGBT views. [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] He has opposed hate crime bills because of the inclusion of gender and sexual identities. [10] He has sponsored legislation to restrict the rights of transgender youth. [11] [4] [7] [9]

Reproductive rights

Cash is a staunch opponent of abortion. [12] For example, when he opposed Lindsey Graham from the right in 2014, his ads touted numerous arrests for protesting abortion [13] and criticized Graham for his positions on abortion. [14]

In 2023, Cash was one of the main Senators to push for tighter abortion restrictions in the state, opposing the 'Sister Senators', the five women who worked together across party lines to resist the bill. The Senate passed a six-week abortion law that year, with certain exceptions for sexual assault, incest, fetal anomalies, and medical emergency. [15] [16]

In 2025, Cash authored Senate Bill 323, which sought to make abortion a felony offense punishable by up to 30 years in prison and remove the exceptions that South Carolina currently allows for sexual assault, incest, and fetal anomalies. [17] [18] It also sought to criminalize providing information on how to access abortion legally. [19] The State Senate Medical Affairs subcommittee, chaired by Cash, declined to advance the bill after it failed in a 3-2 vote on November 18, 2025. [20] Cash and Senator Tom Fernandez voted in favor of advancing the bill, while Senators Deon Tedder, Ronnie A. Sabb, and Brad Hutto voted against it. [21] Four Republican senators abstained from voting.

Endorsements

U.S. House of Representatives

Personal life

Cash is a Presbyterian, and a member of Christ Church, EPC in Anderson. [2] He is an owner and manager of rental properties. [23]

Electoral history

YearOfficeTypePartyMain opponentPartyVotes for CashResult Swing Ref.
Total%P.±%
2010 U.S. RepresentativeRep. primary Republican Jeff Duncan Republican 20,92325.35%1stN/ARunoffN/A [24]
Rep. primary runoff Republican Jeff Duncan Republican 35,12948.50%2ndN/ALostN/A [25] [26]
2014 SenatorRep. primary Republican Lindsey Graham [a] Republican 26,3258.30%3rdN/ALostN/A [27] [28]
2017 S.C. SenatorRep. primary Republican Carol Burdette Republican 2,03225.82%2ndN/ARunoffN/A [3]
Rep. primary runoff Republican Carol Burdette Republican 4,86954.40%1stN/AWonN/A [29]
Special Republican Write-in N/A3,03581.70%1stN/AWonHold [30] [31]
2020 Rep. primary Republican Craig Wooten Republican 9,41156.76%1stN/ANowN/A [32]
General Republican Judith Polson Democratic 44,44674.03%1stN/ANowHold [33] [34]

Notes

  1. ↑ Incumbent seeking re-election.

References

  1. ↑ "South Carolina Legislature Online - Member Biography". www.scstatehouse.gov. Retrieved November 19, 2025.
  2. 1 2 "South Carolina Legislature Online – Member Biography". www.scstatehouse.gov. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  3. 1 2 "In their own words: District 3 Senate candidates". The Anderson Independent Mail. April 2, 2017. Archived from the original on April 16, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
  4. 1 2 Schiferl, Jenna (March 6, 2020). "SC bill aims to ban transgender students from girls sports teams". Post and Courier . Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  5. ↑ Polaski, Adam (January 29, 2021). "LGBTQ Organizations in South Carolina Condemn Sen. Cash's Anti-LGBTQ Tirade on Senate Floor". Campaign for Southern Equality. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  6. ↑ Baska, Maggie (February 1, 2021). "Vile Republican senator thinks married gay people are in direct 'rebellion' against God". PinkNews. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  7. 1 2 Rogers, Winston; Weaver, Jay (March 29, 2023). "'Anti-Transgender' bills advance after Senate subcommittee vote on party lines". WACH. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  8. ↑ Corwin, Tom (February 21, 2024). "Ban on transgender care for minors moves forward despite concerns". Post and Courier . Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  9. 1 2 Laird, Skylar (February 29, 2024). "Bill banning hormones for transgender youth advances to Senate floor fight • SC Daily Gazette". SC Daily Gazette. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  10. ↑ Chhetri, Devyani (March 2, 2022). "Could the lack of a hate crimes bill hurt job growth in South Carolina?". The Greenville News. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  11. ↑ Hinson, G.E. (March 31, 2023). "Senate advances gender-identity bills". Carolina News and Reporter. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  12. 1 2 Holdman, Jessica (January 23, 2024). "Rep. Stewart Jones, original member of hardline Freedom Caucus, will run for SC 3rd District • SC Daily Gazette". SC Daily Gazette. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  13. ↑ Waller, Tim (May 29, 2014). "Truth Check: The facts behind U.S. Senate hopeful Richard Cash's arrests". WYFF-TV. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
  14. ↑ Kropf, Schuyler (May 27, 2014). "Senate candidate Richard Cash has new anti-Lindsey Graham ad out". The Post and Courier. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
  15. ↑ Kate Zernike, and Ava Sasani (May 23, 2023). "South Carolina Senate Passes 6-Week Abortion Ban". The New York Times. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
  16. ↑ News, A. B. C. "South Carolina lawmakers debate abortion bill that could imprison people who receive the procedure". ABC News. Retrieved November 19, 2025.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  17. ↑ Klinger, Jessie (November 18, 2025). "South Carolina's near-total abortion ban fails to advance out of subcommittee". WCIV. Retrieved November 19, 2025.
  18. ↑ Walker, Chris (November 17, 2025). "South Carolina Anti-Abortion Bill Would Also Ban Popular Contraceptives". Truthout. Retrieved November 19, 2025.
  19. ↑ Furtado, Peyton (October 15, 2025). "Senator discusses controversial abortion bill; offers to make a change". WYFF. Retrieved November 19, 2025.
  20. ↑ Schechter, Maayan (November 18, 2025). "Restrictive anti-abortion bill splits SC Senate Republicans, fails to advance". South Carolina Public Radio. Retrieved November 19, 2025.
  21. ↑ News, A. B. C. "South Carolina lawmakers debate abortion bill that could imprison people who receive the procedure". ABC News. Retrieved November 19, 2025.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  22. ↑ Mangrum, Dick (January 18, 2024). "RICHARD CASH TOUTED AS LIKELY CONGRESSIONAL HOPEFUL". WGOG-FM. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
  23. 1 2 Brown, Kirk (June 1, 2020). "Incumbent Richard Cash faces Craig Wooten in SC Senate District 3 Republican primary". The Anderson Independent Mail. Archived from the original on June 13, 2020. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
  24. ↑ "South Carolina 2010 Republican and Democratic Primary: U.S. House of Representatives District 3 - REP". South Carolina Election Commission. June 22, 2010. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
  25. ↑ "GOP Congressman Jeff Duncan won't run for 8th term in his South Carolina district". The Seattle Times . Associated Press. January 17, 2024. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
  26. ↑ "South Carolina Primary Runoff Results - Election 2010 - The New York Times". archive.nytimes.com. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
  27. ↑ Ropp, Kathy (May 1, 2014). "Cash throws cash into his campaign for U.S. Senate seat". My Horry News. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
  28. ↑ "South Carolina Primary Election Results". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  29. ↑ Brown, Kirk. "Richard Cash defeats Carol Burdette in SC Senate runoff". Independent Mail. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
  30. ↑ Brown, Kirk. "Cash survives last-minute write-in effort to win Senate seat". Independent Mail. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
  31. ↑ "State Senate District 3 Special Election". South Carolina Election Commission. May 30, 2017. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
  32. ↑ Brown, Kirk (June 9, 2020). "Incumbents Jonathon Hill and Richard Cash of Anderson County defeat Republican challengers". Independent Mail. Archived from the original on June 13, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  33. ↑ Mayo, Nikie (October 10, 2020). "2020 general election: Here's who is running for South Carolina Senate District 3". Independent Mail. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  34. ↑ Cavallaro, Gabe; Walters, Haley; LaFleur, Elizabeth (November 3, 2020). "Here are the election results from the SC House and Senate races in the Upstate". The Greenville News. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  35. ↑ "SC Senate District 3 Release: Richard Cash Gains Endorsements". FitsNews. April 17, 2017. Archived from the original on July 15, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
  36. ↑ "NRA-PVF | Grades | South Carolina". NRA-PVF. Archived from the original on November 3, 2020.
South Carolina Senate
Preceded by Member of the South Carolina Senate
from the 3rd district
2017–present		Incumbent
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