Leatherman re-elected to lead SC Senate

The S.C. Senate re-elected Sen. Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence, to its highest position Wednesday in a contentious 28-16 vote.

The vote came after senators elected Sen. Kevin Bryant, R-Anderson, to ascend to the lieutenant governor’s post.

The state’s most powerful politician, Leatherman had resigned Tuesday as president pro tem to avoid becoming lieutenant governor, an essentially powerless position.

Many senators — primarily GOP opponents of Leatherman — argued the Florence Republican had a constitutional duty to become lieutenant governor.

Sen. Harvey Peeler, R-Cherokee, challenged Leatherman for Senate leader, winning 16 votes, all from Republicans. Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, an outspoken critic of Leatherman, nominated Peeler.

Massey was one of only two senators to vote against Leatherman in 2014, when the Florence Republican first was elected president pro tempore. Massey said he has the same concerns now as then — that too much power is concentrated in Leatherman’s hands.

To reinforce his point, Massey showed an invitation for a fundraiser supporting Leatherman, listing all the panels that the Florence Republican sits on. The invitation showed Leatherman chairs: the Senate Finance Committee; the Joint Bond Review Committee, which approves state borrowing; the Interstate Cooperation Committee; the Senate Operations and Management Committee; and the Agency Head Salary Commission, which sets the salaries of state agency heads.

Leatherman also is a board member of the State Fiscal Accountability Authority, S.C. Transportation Infrastructure Bank and the S.C. Research Authority.

Massey also criticized Leatherman for not agreeing to become lieutenant governor. “If you took the oath, dadgummit, you ought to do it.”

Leatherman won re-election by securing all 18 votes of the Senate’s minority party Democrats and 10 votes from Republican allies, including Sen. Luke Rankin, R-Horry.

Rankin, who nominated Leatherman, said senators re-elected Leatherman as Senate leader in December, knowing he had said would not become lieutenant governor. Nine GOP senators voted against Leatherman at the time.

“As a courtesy, and in the interest of full transparency, (Leatherman) made that announcement before we elected him” as president pro tempore in December, Rankin said.

Rankin added the Senate and state have prospered while Leatherman has been Senate leader, citing, in particular, his role in landing Boeing for the state.

This story was originally published January 25, 2017 at 1:47 PM with the headline "Leatherman re-elected to lead SC Senate."