Richland Sheriff Leon Lott, a Democrat, backs SC Gov. McMaster’s reelection bid
Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott, a Democrat, says he is backing Republican Gov. Henry McMaster’s reelection bid.
Lott, who was first elected sheriff in 1996, made the announcement Wednesday outside the State House with McMaster. Lott is one of 32 sheriffs and 10 solicitors backing McMaster’s reelection. Others include Republican Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon, Democratic Newberry County Sheriff Lee Foster and four other Democratic sheriffs.
“Gov. McMaster’s experience as a prosecutor makes him the kind of uncommonly strong partner we can trust to help us do our jobs,” Lott said.
McMaster is running for his second term in November against Democrat Joe Cunningham, who previously served one term in the U.S. House representing the 1st Congressional District.
Cunningham’s campaign declined to comment on the endorsement.
Lott made his endorsement public Wednesday as McMaster detailed a list of proposals he says will help improve public safety. The list includes keeping violent offenders behind bars, adding more prison time for committing a violent crime while out on bond and raising the qualifications in order to be a magistrate judge.
McMaster also has pushed for making second and subsequent offenses for illegal gun possession a felony with mandatory minimum prison sentences, no chance for bond and early release or parole.
In the background is the state’s murder rate. In 2020, the State Law Enforcement Division reported that the rate of violent crime, including murders and aggravated assaults, has gone up since 2015.
Lott defended McMaster Wednesday, arguing the rise in violent crime in the state isn’t McMaster’s fault.
“Gov. McMaster doesn’t control the magistrates; he doesn’t control the catch and release (of offenders) that we see every single day in our court systems,” Lott said. “That’s not on Gov. McMaster. Gov. McMaster is giving us the tools we need to do our job.”
In South Carolina, judges are elected by the General Assembly after a panel of legislators vet judicial candidates. Magistrates, however, are appointed by the governor but the Senate has to give approval.
McMaster on Wednesday defended the way South Carolina decides its judges. He said turning the decision over to voters would bring the process into the political realm, where judicial candidates would have to raise money potentially from lawyers who would appear in their courts.
“I think that gives an opportunity for a conflict of interest,” McMaster said.
But critics argue the issue is already political, considering the panel vetting the judicial candidates includes lawyers and many lawmakers who vote on judges are also lawyers.
Cunningham has called for public elections of magistrates and circuit judges as one way to address the high crime rate.
“People want accountability, folks want accountability and right now we can’t have that because we have gerrymandered districts,” Cunningham told reporters after he accepted the endorsement of the South Carolina Education Association Tuesday. “We have partisan legislators choosing the magistrates and also choosing people who are under qualified. We need to raise those standards and do a lot more of than that.”
Lott, who turns 69 in five days, also criticized Cunningham Wednesday for his stance that politicians should no longer serve past age 72, similar to judges.
“It’s an insult to think in three years I’ll be too old to do this job,” Lott said. “It’s about caring (and) loving this state. That is a definition of a public servant. That is what our governor is, a true public servant.”
This story was originally published September 28, 2022 at 11:46 AM.
