Write-in candidate challenges SC Rep RJ May after his investigation by Homeland Security
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State Rep. Robert “RJ” May
South Carolina State Rep. Robert “RJ” May of Lexington County has been indicted on 10 federal counts of distributing child sexual abuse material.
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A local business owner is launching a write-in campaign against RJ May, a two-term state representative who is under investigation by the Department of Homeland Security.
Brian Duncan, 53, of Red Bank, who previously ran in 2020 for the Republican nomination in District 88, said if he had known about the investigation into May sooner, he would have potentially gotten involved in the race.
Since the news of the search in May’s house became public in August, he has not spoken publicly.
“We thought that RJ May would probably come out a long time ago, ... and just say something (about the search,” Duncan said in an interview. “He has done nothing, no constituent services, nothing for the people of District 88.”
When reached via text message Tuesday, May shot back at Duncan, but did not comment on the investigation.
“Mr. Duncan’s assertions simply aren’t true,” May said in a text message. “I’m committed to responding to the needs of the people of District 88 and to representing them for the next two years.”
May’s name will be alone on the Nov. 5 ballot for House District 88. Starting a campaign two weeks before Election Day will make Duncan’s bid difficult.
“I know it’s an uphill battle, but the flip side of that is the people of District 88 have absolutely no choice,” Duncan said.
Duncan, who has owned Security Pro for 18 years, served in the South Carolina Air National Guard for 20 years.
He expects the soles on the new shoes his wife, Shannon, bought for him Monday to be worn down within two weeks as he walks neighborhoods and greets people at polling places.
“I’m going to talk to as many people as I possibly can to get the word out,” Duncan said.
Federal Homeland Security agents executed a search warrant at May’s house in August.
The search was carried out by the Homeland Security Investigations unit, an agency that conducts federal criminal investigations into the illegal movement of people, goods, money, contraband, weapons and sensitive technology into, out of and through the U.S., sources previously told The State.
May was the founder of the House Freedom Caucus, a group of hard-line conservative lawmakers who are often publicly at odds with the GOP caucus. Although May served as the vice chair, he coordinated media trainings for the group and strategy.
May also is the president of Ivory Tusk Consulting, a political campaign consulting firm.
Duncan says he will not join the Freedom Caucus if he’s elected.
“I don’t negotiate with extreme anything,” Duncan said. “If there’s a bill in the House, in a hypothetical situation, and there’s just the back and forth. You got the extremes, (and) you got the extremes, nothing’s ever going to get done. You have to learn to compromise.”
Duncan was one of five people who ran in the 2020 Republican primary in District 88. Duncan finished in fourth place.
His 2020 campaign literature included support from, among others, Nephron CEO Lou Kennedy and Roxanne Wilson, wife of U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson.
Any registered voter can run as a write-in candidate and can be elected if they are qualified to hold the office. The candidates, however, are asked to notify the authority running the election so officials can know to look for the candidate’s name.
Launching a write-in campaign at this point in a calendar will make Duncan’s candidacy a long shot. Early voting started Monday and Duncan will have to find a way to get his name out to the roughly 41,500 people who live in the House district with less than two weeks before Election Day. In 2020, about 15,000 people voted in District 88.
Duncan’s bid has support from an outgoing lawmaker who once was successful with a long-shot campaign.
State Sen. Katrina Shealy, R-Lexington, who lost in a Republican runoff in June, is already vocally supporting Duncan’s bid. Shealy first won her state Senate seat in 2012 when she ran as a petition candidate over state Sen. Jake Knotts.
Shealy and Duncan accept he may need May’s legal problems to eventually lead to an ouster from office leading to a special election.
“(Duncan’s) getting his name out there ahead of time. I mean, let’s go ahead and jump from the frying pan into the fire, if you go ahead and get out there,” Shealy said. “But I mean, it’d be nice if you’d go ahead and win now and then we don’t have to worry about that.”
This story was originally published October 22, 2024 at 12:13 PM.
