Power shift coming in SC Senate as the ‘domino effect’ begins after Leatherman’s death
Hugh Leatherman wielded enormous power over state spending as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, a panel of 23 senators who help write South Carolina’s budget every year.
This month, at age 90, Leatherman died, ending a tenure of almost 11 four-year terms representing the Florence County seat of District 31.
His death marks a significant changing of the guard inside the General Assembly’s upper chamber, where Leatherman chaired the Senate’s budget-writing committee, which afforded him chief roles on other committees, for roughly two decades.
And it’ll also mark a shift in regional power away from the Pee Dee region, with some of the state’s new most powerful leaders being based in the Upstate.
The Legislature won’t officially return to complete the two-year session until January, and an election to fill Leatherman’s unexpired term isn’t scheduled until late March. But when the Senate returns soon to take up redistricting maps, possibly as early as Dec. 6, Senate President Harvey Peeler, R-Cherokee, is expected to take over the role as budget chief, stepping down from his presidential role because he can’t hold both titles.
“You’re going to have a domino effect” in leadership role changes, said Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield.
Power shift in the SC Senate
One of the most seasoned senators in the chamber, Peeler is in line to become Senate Finance Committee chairman due to seniority, leaving someone to take his presidential title.
The Gaffney Republican was first elected in 1980, just like Leatherman, after previously serving on Cherokee County Council from 1977-1980. Peeler, a former Senate majority leader who is a dairy cattle farmer and tweets out so-called ”Gaffnese” wisdom regularly, is 73.
Peeler became Senate president in 2019 after a constitutional change did away with one of the most powerful jobs in the chamber, Senate president pro tempore, a position then held by Leatherman that gave him immense influence over the Senate’s agenda and held appointment power.
The Senate president job replaced the state’s lieutenant governor as the Senate’s presiding officer.
“It would be an honor,” Peeler told The State in 2018 before he became president. “It’s new, so I can bring a fresh look. But I’ll bring with me my years of experience.”
It’s currently unclear how Peeler will use his new control over the state’s purse strings.
Peeler declined to comment for this article, and he has yet to publicly comment on the new legislative job.
But colleagues told The State they expect the senator to be fair, though likely more conservative than Leatherman. They added he is, however, likely to continue similar practices to Leatherman as any changes will be gradual.
During his tenure, Leatherman repeatedly defended sending state dollars back to senators’ districts for local projects — known as earmarks or pet projects. That practice is unlikely to go away because the House, and arguably most senators, want to see it continue, senators said.
“I would hope that anyone who assumes that position would do that same conviction of making sure of equal access to the funds throughout our great state,” Florence Mayor Teresa Myers Ervin said.
Whether Peeler will continue his predecessor’s practice of allowing Democrats to hold subcommittee positions also is in question.
Leatherman, who was first elected as Democrat before he switched parties in the 1990s, named Democrats to chair subcommittees — a move the Republican didn’t have to make, as the GOP were in control. That power expanded after the 2020 election when Republicans held a 30-16 majority in the chamber.
Under Leatherman, for example, former state Sen. Vincent Sheheen, D-Kershaw, oversaw education spending for the budget-writing committee’s education panel. State Sen. Nikki Setzler, D-Lexington, currently chairs the Natural Resources subcommittee, which was tasked with overseeing the Port of Charleston’s $550 million bond bill last year, and Sen. Darrell Jackson, D-Richland, oversees transportation and regulatory spending.
One senator said Peeler is capable of running the committee.
“I think he respects the process and the legacy of the Senate,” Jackson said. “It would concern me if someone in his position did not do that. He knows how the Senate works. He knows that seniority is very important in the Senate. He knows that experience is very important with Senate Finance.”
Senate rules state a senator can’t be both president and chairman of a standing committee. That means with Peeler as Senate budget chairman, someone new will become the head of the chamber.
If the Senate follows seniority when selecting a new chief, state Sen. Thomas Alexander, R-Oconee, will become president.
Alexander, who runs Oconee Office Supply, joined the Senate in 1994 and serves on the Senate Finance Committee, chairing the Health and Human Services Subcommittee. He also oversaw a legislative panel responsible for spending COVID-19 aid from the American Rescue Plan Act. And he has oversight of who serves on utility regulatory boards as the chairman of the Public Utility Review Committee, a group of lawmakers who screen candidates for the Public Service Commission and appointees to the Santee Cooper Board.
He’s also the chairman of the Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee, yet another position that would open up since Alexander would have to give it up if elected to Senate president.
Alexander did not respond to a message seeking comment.
A special election will be held March 29 to fill the District 31 seat.
Filing opens Dec. 3 and runs through Dec. 11.
Mike Reichenbach, who owns several car dealerships, is so far the only candidate who has announced a bid for the seat.
