Son of legendary Clemson football coach jumps in SC statewide election

Danny Lee Ford II, the son of a national championship winning Clemson football coach, announced his bid for agriculture commissioner Monday at the Upstate Livestock Exchange in Anderson County.

He joins a primary field to succeed retiring agriculture commissioner Hugh Weathers. Ford will go up against Cody Simpson, who received President Donald Trump and Gov. Henry McMaster’s endorsements before joining the race last week. Weathers-backed Fred West and Jeremy Cannon have also announced campaigns for the Republican nomination.

The winner will oversee the state Department of Agriculture, which regulates and provides resources to South Carolina’s largest industry sector.

Ford is a cattle and hemp farmer in the Upstate. Weathers’ retirement and troubles on the farm, including the loss of a quarter of his cows to blue-green algae bloom, pushed him into the race, Ford said.

Ford said he wants to provide more support to farmers and help connect the agriculture industry to consumers.

“Whenever farmers are having trouble it makes the difference when they know that people are behind them,” Ford said.

His father was one of the first 20 industrial hemp farmers in the state in 2017. The senior Ford coached Clemson to its first national championship in 1981.

Ford said his father, who taught him about farming and livestock, will be involved in the campaign.

“It’s been fabulous to get out there and to spend time with my dad and to meet some of the connections that I would have never met unless I got into this race,” Ford said.

Ford filed an initial finance report for the election earlier this year. He reported putting $500 into the campaign.

Filing for office begins March 16 and runs through March 30, and the primary is June 9.

This story was originally published February 23, 2026 at 2:59 PM.