Lawrence Grooms

Lawrence Grooms
South Carolina State Senate District 37
Incumbent
In office
1997-Present
Term ends
November 14, 2016
Years in position	16
Party	Republican
Compensation
Base salary	$10,400/year
Per diem	$131/day
Elections and appointments
Last election	November 6, 2012
First elected	1997
Next election	November 8, 2016
Term limits	N/A
Education
Bachelor's	Clemson University, 1987
Personal
Birthday	March 20, 1964
Place of birth	Moncks Corner, SC
Profession	President/CEO, GTI Corporation
Religion	Southern Baptist
Websites
Office website

Lawrence Grooms (b. March 20, 1964) has been a Republican member of the South Carolina State Senate since winning a 1997 special election, representing the 37th district.

Grooms was a 2013 Republican candidate seeking election to the U.S. House in the special election for the 1st Congressional District of South Carolina.

Grooms was the third runner up in the March 19 Republican primary. Mark Sanford (R) defeated in the April 2 runoff primary challenger Curtis Bostic, who was the runner-up.

In an effort to give voters an alternative to Sanford and his Democratic opponent Elizabeth Colbert-Busch, one conservative group announced plans on April 25, 2013 to launch a write-in campaign for Grooms. The Conservative Campaign Committee PAC, which supported Grooms in the primary, is launching an independent expenditure campaign "to give conservative voters who are disenchanted with Sanford but do not want to vote for a Democrat a third option in the May 7 special election". In response to the write-in campaign, Grooms posted a statement to his Facebook page saying, "I learned today that a national conservative tea-party group has expressed their intent to launch a write-in campaign on my behalf. Their decision was done without my knowledge or consent...I encourage you to not help elect a Democrat by writing in my name or any other candidate’s name but instead to support our Republican nominee, Mark Sanford."

Biography

Grooms has served as Executive Committee Member for the Berkeley County Republican Party since 1996. He joined the South Carolina State Senate in 1997. He has served in that position since, representing the 37th district.

Grooms has been the President/CEO of GTI Corporation since 1989.

Grooms earned his BS from Clemson University in 1987.

Grooms was one of several South Carolina lawmakers who traveled to Panama in September 2010 for a three-day trip paid for by the South Carolina State Ports Authority, even though he's a member of a commission that oversees the authority. At least $29,000 was spent on the Ports Authority-sponsored junket, which sought to promote South Carolina ports to Panama Canal officials. Information gathered by the investigative journalism website The Nerve showed that the authority covered most of the costs for the seven-member legislative group, which included five legislators - Weeks; Rep. J. David Weeks, D-Sumter; Rep. Bill Sandifer, III, R-Oconee; Sen. Phillip Shoopman, R-Greenville, and then-Rep. Harry Cato, R-Greenville. Grooms was the only one of the five legislators to reimburse the Ports Authority for his trip expenses, nearly $1,500.

Committee assignments

2013-2014

At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Grooms served on the following committees:

South Carolina Committee Assignments, 2013
• Agriculture and Natural Resources
• Education
• Finance
• Transportation, Chair

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Grooms served on the following committees:

2009-2010

In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Grooms served on the following committees:

Issues

Presidential preference

2012

See also: Endorsements by state officials of presidential candidates in the 2012 election

Lawrence Grooms endorsed Rick Santorum in the 2012 presidential election.

He previously endorsed Rick Perry.

Elections

2013

See also: South Carolina's 1st congressional district special election, 2013

Grooms ran for the U.S. House representing the 1st Congressional District of South Carolina. The election was held to replace Tim Scott, who was appointed to fill Jim DeMint's vacant seat in the U.S. Senate. Grooms ran in the Republican primary against Keith Blandford, Curtis Bostic, Ric Bryant, Jonathan Hoffman, Jeff King, John Kuhn, Tim Larkin, Chip Limehouse, Peter McCoy, Elizabeth Moffly, Ray Nash, Andy Patrick, Shawn Pinkston, Mark Sanford and Teddy Turner on March 19, 2013. The general election takes place on May 7, 2013.

Grooms was the third runner up in the March 19 Republican primary. Mark Sanford (R) is likely to face in the April 2 runoff primary challenger Curtis Bostic, who was the runner-up -- although a recount is possible between Bostic and Grooms (R).

Former Governor Mark Sanford was seen as the front runner due to name recognition and the fact that he had $120,000 in an old campaign account. That coupled with his ability to fundraise quickly gave him a leg up on the field. This is also his former seat in the U.S. House of Representatives that he held for three terms, prior to being elected governor.

The district leans Republican. The last Democratic candidate elected was Mendel Jackson Davis in 1978.

Conservative group launches write-in campaign for GOP alternative

In an effort to give voters an alternative to Sanford and his Democratic opponent Elizabeth Colbert-Busch, one conservative group has announced plans on April 25 to launch a write-in campaign for state senator Grooms. Grooms ran in the Republican primary, finishing third behind Sanford and attorney Curtis Bostic.

The Conservative Campaign Committee PAC, which supported Grooms in the primary, is launching an independent expenditure campaign "to give conservative voters who are disenchanted with Sanford but do not want to vote for a Democrat a third option in the May 7 special election". The group has already started “actively reaching out to conservative leaders and groups from around the country to join our coalition and contribute to this effort,” CCC Vice Chair Selena Owens said in a statement. The group also plans to run radio and television ads to encourage voters to write in Grooms on the ballot, with the ads expected to say, “We don’t have to settle for the lesser of evils in this Special Election. Instead, write in Larry Grooms for Congress on May 7th.”

In response to the write-in campaign, Grooms posted a statement to his Facebook page saying, "I learned today that a national conservative tea-party group has expressed their intent to launch a write-in campaign on my behalf. Their decision was done without my knowledge or consent. It is my desire to untie conservatives, not divide them. While I am grateful to have had their past support, my race is over. I am asking them to stop their effort. The most important action we can take as conservatives is to defeat Liberal Democrat Elizabeth Colbert-Busch. Mrs. Busch would want nothing more than to see the Republican vote split on May 7th because she knows that every Republican that writes in a name is one less vote for the Republican candidate...I encourage you to not help elect a Democrat by writing in my name or any other candidate’s name but instead to support our Republican nominee, Mark Sanford."

2012

See also: South Carolina State Senate elections, 2012

Grooms ran unopposed in the Republican primary on June 12 and in the general election on November 6, 2012.

South Carolina State Senate, District 37, General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Lawrence Grooms Incumbent	98.9%	32,003
	Other	Write-Ins	1.1%	365
Total Votes				32,368

2008

Grooms won re-election for District 37 of the South Carolina State Senate with 33,385 votes, ahead of write-ins (199).

He raised $63,824 for his campaign.

South Carolina State Senate, District 37
Candidates		Votes
Lawrence Grooms (R)		33,385
Write-ins		199

Campaign donors

2012

Campaign donor information is not yet available for this year.

2008

Grooms raised $63,824 in the 2008 election cycle.

His top contributors are listed below.

Donor	Amount
South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance	$2,000
Outdoor Advertising Association of South Carolina	$2,000
Charleston Branch Pilots Association	$2,000
JM Family Enterprises	$1,750
Reynolds American	$1,500
Southeastern Freight Lines	$1,500
SIIS LLC DBA Low Country Harley Davidson	$1,500

Personal

Grooms and his wife Carol have three children.

Recent news

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Lawrence Grooms News Feed

• St. Stephen View - Berkeley Independent
• Real estate transactions for Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties - Charleston Post Courier (subscription)

External links

Suggest a link

• Profile from the South Carolina Legislature
• Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
• Biography from Project Vote Smart
• Campaign Contributions: 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002, 2000
• Larry Grooms on Facebook
• Larry Grooms on Twitter

References

Political offices
Preceded by Dewitt Williams	South Carolina State Senate - District 37 1997–present	Succeeded by NA