2 Upstate SC Republicans will go back to Washington
Two Upstate Republican congressmen easily won reelection Tuesday.
District 3 U.S. Rep. Jeff Duncan beat insurance agency owner Hosea Cleveland, a Democrat, 73% to 27%.
District 4 U.S. Rep. William Timmons IV overcame a challenge from Democrat Kim Nelson, who made healthcare a priority. Timmons won 58% to 41%, according to initial results.
Duncan and Timmons have been reliable supporters of President Donald Trump in counties that regularly vote Republican.
The 4th District includes most of Greenville and Spartanburg counties. The 4th District has not elected a Democrat since 1990, when Liz Patterson of Spartanburg was elected to the last of her three terms. She was defeated in 1992 by Bob Inglis.
Timmons, a lawyer, small business owner and JAG officer, was elected in 2018 after Trey Gowdy decided not to run for reelection. He famously wrote to Tesla CEO Elon Musk asking him to relocate his electric car company to South Carolina after Musk tweeted he would leave California unless health officers allowed him to open his Fremont, California, plant.
Timmons has worked on trade with China, term limits and campaigned on a slogan “Washington is broken.” He reiterated the idea in this election season and said, “We have to find a way to come together. If we don’t we won’t have a country.”
His priorities for the next term are stopping illegal immigration, rebuilding the military and cutting waste in government.
District 3 sprawls across nine counties hugging the western boundary of South Carolina plus parts of Greenville and Newberry counties.
Duncan followed Lindsey Graham into the seat. Graham broke a string of Democratic victories when he was elected in 1994 and served four terms until he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002.
Duncan was first elected in 2010 and supports free markets, limited government, gun rights and repealing the Affordable Care Act. He is pro-life.
He issued a statement recently after Amy Coney Barrett was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court by the U.S. Senate, saying, “Her brilliance and intellect will make a positive impact on the highest court in the land for decades to come.”
This story was originally published November 3, 2020 at 11:25 PM.