Trump and McMaster pick for SC agriculture commissioner jumps into the race
President Donald Trump and South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster’s pick to be the next commissioner of agriculture has jumped into the race.
Cody Simpson, who was appointed by Trump to be the state executive director of the USDA Farm Service Agency in South Carolina, launched his campaign Thursday to succeed Agriculture Commissioner Hugh Weathers.
The 34-year-old Simpson, who previously worked as McMaster’s chief executive assistant and agriculture advisor, also is a fifth-generation farmer from Clarendon County. McMaster and Trump endorsed Simpson two weeks ago encouraging him to get into the race.
McMaster and First Lady Peggy McMaster already donated $3,500 to Simpson’s campaign.
“South Carolina agriculture is the backbone of our state’s economy and our way of life,” Simpson said. “I’ve lived the challenges South Carolina rural families face, then advised leaders like Gov. McMaster on how to fix them. President Trump trusted me to lead for our farmers and rural communities at the federal level.”
Weathers is not running for reelection and is backing Fred West, a former vice president of Amick Farms, in the Republican primary. Jeremy Cannon, a Turbeville Republican, also is running.
Because the state is a reliably Republican, whoever wins the GOP nomination in June will be the favorite to win the November election. Filing for office begins March 16 and runs through March 30.
The primary is June 9. If no one receives a majority of vote in the primary, the race goes to a June 23 runoff.
Simpson, who is a Francis Marion University graduate, said in a news release he would work to protect South Carolina farmland from being purchased from by Chinese buyers, advocate for conservation and responsible land stewardship, strengthen food supply chains and food security, support the state’s hospitality and tourism industry, expand markets for the state’s farmers, and promote agricultural education and workforce development.
“As a farmer, I understand the rising costs, the labor challenges, the regulatory burdens, and the uncertainty that too many of our producers face,” Simpson said. “We need a commissioner who knows agriculture not just from behind a desk, but also from the cab of a tractor and the fields of South Carolina.”
