The State endorsement: Our choice in the SC House District 88 Republican primary
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The State Endorsements
Early voting for Columbia’s Nov. 4 elections has begun, and the special election in Lexington County in State House District 88 is Oct. 21 with a potential runoff election Nov. 4. Here are The McClatchy South Carolina Editorial Board’s endorsements.
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The State endorsement: Our choice in the SC House District 88 Republican primary
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The State endorsement: Our choice in the at-large Columbia City Council race
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RJ May was flying high like Icarus just last year.
The co-founder of the South Carolina House Freedom Caucus was not only in demand as a campaign consultant who could elect fellow Republicans to the State House but also coasting to a third term as a state lawmaker himself.
Then state and federal investigators seized the 35 digital devices — a laptop, a tablet, four cellphones, four hard drives, four SD cards, two DVD-Rs and 19 thumb drives — that led to May’s dramatic downfall.
Last month, he pleaded guilty to five counts of distributing child pornography, a disturbing end to a disgusting saga that left more than 40,000 Lexington County residents without representation.
May has been in jail since June. He resigned in August. Now, voters in District 88 — which includes South Congaree, Pine Ridge and Gaston in eastern Lexington County — will elect a representative to serve the final year of his two-year term. Each vote will matter in a low-turnout special election in a county where trends and demographics indicate it’s a safe Republican seat.
May faced only token opposition after winning three Republican primaries in 2020, 2022 and 2024. He emerged from a five-person field to win a runoff in the 2020 GOP primary with just 1,378 votes, then won the 2024 GOP primary against a single opponent with only 2,513 votes.
His replacement may not need that many. The Oct. 21 GOP primary features four candidates who have never held public office, and early voting begins this Monday. A runoff election would be held on Nov. 4 if no candidate gets more than half the vote. Then the victor will face a lone Democratic challenger in a special election on Dec. 23, just two days before Christmas.
The GOP candidates are Brian Duncan, Lorelei Graye, John Lastinger and Darren Rogers. The Democrat is Joseph “Chuck” Hightower. If some of the names sound familiar, it’s because they are.
Duncan and Lastinger lost to May in the 2020 GOP primary. Graye lost to him in the 2024 primary. And Duncan lost to him again as a write-in candidate last year.
Duncan has also lost races for Lexington County Council in 2012 and 2016. Rogers lost a Lexington 1 school board race in 2008. Hightower lost a pair of Lexington 2 school board races, in 2020 and 2022.
The McClatchy South Carolina Editorial Board endorses Duncan in the 2025 GOP primary. We recommend him after surveying each candidate about their priorities; their views on public education, housing, energy, infrastructure, growth and the state’s income tax, and their assessment of the Freedom Caucus whose hardline approach is so divisive at the State House.
Duncan’s comments stood out for their thoughtfulness and clarity, even when we disagreed with him. He struck us as someone who would be direct and could speak truth to power. He is the only candidate who alluded to May, writing that, “Sadly, our community has gone almost a year without a real voice in Columbia,” and his assessment of the Freedom Caucus rang true while others didn’t directly comment on the caucus’ goals or approach to governing as we requested.
“Allegiance to a caucus may get headlines, but it does nothing to fix roads, improve schools or make our communities safer,” Duncan wrote. “I am a conservative, and I will vote in line with the values of this district. But I also believe results matter. The people of District 88 are not sending me to Columbia to play caucus politics. They are sending me to get things done.”
The candidates all acknowledged Lexington County’s explosive growth. But only Duncan and Lastinger listed growth management as a priority, and Duncan’s thoughts on growth seemed to be the most reasonable and responsible. He was the only candidate to say the state should invest in new technologies like small modular nuclear reactors. “Growth should pay for growth,” he wrote. “Growth is inevitable, but how we manage it will determine the future of District 88.”
Likewise, Duncan’s thoughts on eliminating the income tax seemed deeper than Lastinger’s, Graye’s and Rogers’. Duncan said he wants a “zero income tax future,” but the state should be “aggressive and thoughtful” about it. He stressed his pursuit of that goal would be responsible.
This endorsement isn’t the place for us to argue for or against eliminating the income tax, a complex subject that requires much study and an understanding of budget needs, but Duncan’s approach seemed the most holistic and he seemed the most willing to consider all perspectives.
Interestingly, he is also the lone candidate in the group to mention President Donald Trump.
“District 88 needs strong, proven conservative leadership — the kind of leadership President Donald Trump has shown on the national stage,” he wrote. “Like him, I believe in putting our people first, standing firm on our principles, and getting results that make a real difference.”
Duncan, 54, also has a breadth of experience. He was in the South Carolina Air National Guard for 20 years and has owned Security Pro, a security and surveillance company in Lexington, for 18 years. He is a commissioner with the Lexington County Recreation and Aging Commission.
Perhaps most importantly, he promised to be “accessible, accountable and responsive” to the people he serves. After the disaster of RJ May, that’s exactly what Lexington County deserves.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREHow we do endorsements
Members of The McClatchy South Carolina Editorial Board interviewed and researched candidates running for mayor and City Council in Columbia and Myrtle Beach and in a special election in SC House District 88 in Lexington County in 2025. We based endorsements on our reporting and fact-checking — and on each candidate’s achievements, background, character, demeanor and experience.
The endorsements were made by South Carolina Opinion Editor Matthew T. Hall, a Columbia resident; Sherry Beasley, a longtime educator and Columbia resident; Toni Etheridge, a strategic advisor and writer who lives in Forest Acres; Paul Osmundson, a retired senior editor at The State and a Forest Acres resident; and Pat Robertson, a retired editor and outdoors columnist who lives in Blythewood.
If you have questions or comments about our endorsements, please email Hall at mhall@thestate.com.
This story was originally published October 3, 2025 at 5:00 AM.