SC Senator Nikki Setzler: ‘Thank you for the honor and privilege.’ | Opinion
In 1976, I filed to run for the South Carolina Senate and was elected in November of 1976 to the Senate.
At that time America was at a very different place. Jimmy Carter was elected president. Our country had just gone through Watergate and the resignation of Richard Nixon. Apple had just been formed and the recession and Vietnam war had just ended. Unemployment was at 7.5%. Still, we hoped for the future as we looked towards our nation’s bicentennial and dreamed of what the next 200 years might hold.
It was at that moment that I, as a young lawyer with big dreams and a determination not to complain from the sidelines but to be a force for good and change, stepped on the floor of the S.C. Senate, elected by the people to serve and lead.
I could have never imagined all that we would accomplish in the next 47 years. I am so proud and deeply honored to have served as the senator for District 26 and blessed to serve the people of Lexington, Aiken, Calhoun and Saluda counties. It was the privilege of a lifetime.
Together we have accomplished many amazing things. We have worked to improve education by implementing 4K, raising teacher salaries, building a world class technical education system, increased funding for higher education and stabilizing tuition. We have rebuilt our roads and bridges, widened our interstates, and transformed Malfunction Junction into Carolina Crossroads. We have restructured the Conservation Bank and preserved our natural resources like the Congaree Creek Heritage Preserve for future generations.
We have built a better future, not by political grandstanding, but by bringing people together from across the aisle. That is what it means to be a caring conservative and the results are undeniable.
Only by working together were we able to reform the Department of Transportation Commission, invest $600 million alone last year to widen and improve I-26, I-20 and I-85 and land economic game-changers like Amazon, Boeing, Michelin, BMW, Scout, and Nephron creating countless new high-paying jobs for the people of South Carolina.
Imagine what we will do next.
Now, as I reflect upon the past 47 years, I am reminded, while I am deeply honored to be the longest continuous presently serving state senator in America, this journey has not been about accolades or awards. It’s been about making a difference.
It has been about seeing the face of a young student who becomes the first member of their family to receive a college degree. It is about meeting the mother or father who can afford to support their family because of a job we helped create. It is about the countless times we have helped a citizen with a problem in their life. It is about making sure our citizens have good job opportunities, our education system is supported, our communities are safe, our infrastructure is modernized, health care is available and affordable, and our natural resources preserved.
It is about helping my grandchildren and yours imagine the possibilities just like I did that first day I walked onto the S.C. Senate floor.
For 47 years God has given me the health, the ability, and the opportunity to serve and lead. I have cherished every minute of my service. Psalm 32:8 says, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go.” Therefore, it is in that spirit that I announce today, I will not seek reelection in 2024 and conclude my service in the S.C. Senate at the end of this term.
Serving the people of South Carolina has been the honor of a lifetime. Thank you for your faith in me, for the opportunity to serve you and for taking this journey with me. Thank you to my wife who has been my partner in my service and my family who has supported and loved me throughout this journey. I look forward to my next journey.