Justin Bennett

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Justin Bennett

Democratic Party

Candidate, Governor of South Carolina

Elections and appointments

Last election

June 14, 2022

Next election

November 3, 2026

Education

High school

Estill High School

Personal

Birthplace

Charleston, SC

Religion

Seventh-Day Adventist

Profession

Customer service representative

Contact

Campaign X

Campaign Instagram

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Personal Facebook

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Justin Bennett (Democratic Party) is running for election for Governor of South Carolina. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.^[source]

Bennett completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Justin Bennett was born in Charleston, South Carolina. He earned a high school diploma from Estill High School. His career experience includes working as a customer service representative and manager at McDonald's.

Elections

2026

See also: South Carolina gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2026

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated to separate general election candidates from primary candidates as appropriate.

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for Governor of South Carolina

The following candidates are running in the general election for Governor of South Carolina on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Justin Bennett (D)
		Jermaine Johnson (D)
	Submit photo	Mullins McLeod (D)
		Pamela Evette (R)
		Josh Kimbrell (R)
		Nancy Mace (R)
		Ralph Norman (R)
		Alan Wilson (R)

---

	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Thomas Ravenel (R)

Endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.

2022

South Carolina House of Representatives District 25

See also: South Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2022

General election

General election for South Carolina House of Representatives District 25

Wendell Jones defeated Yvonne Julian and Tony Boyce in the general election for South Carolina House of Representatives District 25 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Wendell Jones (D)	61.7	5,558
		Yvonne Julian (R)	33.8	3,040
		Tony Boyce (Independence Party)	4.3	391
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	15

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 9,004
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary runoff election

Democratic primary runoff for South Carolina House of Representatives District 25

Wendell Jones defeated Derrick Quarles in the Democratic primary runoff for South Carolina House of Representatives District 25 on June 28, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Wendell Jones	54.9	664
	Submit photo	Derrick Quarles	45.1	546

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,210
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for South Carolina House of Representatives District 25

Wendell Jones and Derrick Quarles advanced to a runoff. They defeated Adriene Atkinson, Bruce Wilson, and Justin Bennett in the Democratic primary for South Carolina House of Representatives District 25 on June 14, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Wendell Jones	31.3	606
✔	Submit photo	Derrick Quarles	29.8	578
		Adriene Atkinson	26.1	505
		Bruce Wilson	11.2	217
		Justin Bennett	1.6	31

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,937
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Yvonne Julian advanced from the Republican primary for South Carolina House of Representatives District 25.

Independence Party convention

Independence Party convention for South Carolina House of Representatives District 25

Tony Boyce advanced from the Independence Party convention for South Carolina House of Representatives District 25 on May 27, 2022.

		Candidate
✔		Tony Boyce (Independence Party)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for South Carolina House of Representatives District 25

No candidate advanced from the convention.

		Candidate
		Jack Logan (L)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

U.S. House South Carolina District 4

See also: South Carolina's 4th Congressional District election, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House South Carolina District 4

Incumbent William Timmons defeated Lee Turner in the general election for U.S. House South Carolina District 4 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		William Timmons (R)	90.8	165,607
		Lee Turner (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	0
		Other/Write-in votes	9.2	16,758

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 182,365
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Ken Hill (D)
• Michael Chandler (Constitution Party)

Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Ken Hill advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House South Carolina District 4.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Justin Bennett (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House South Carolina District 4

Incumbent William Timmons defeated Mark Burns, Michael LaPierre, and George Abuzeid in the Republican primary for U.S. House South Carolina District 4 on June 14, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		William Timmons	52.7	24,800
		Mark Burns	23.8	11,214
		Michael LaPierre	17.1	8,029
		George Abuzeid	6.4	3,024

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 47,067
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Constitution convention

Constitution convention for U.S. House South Carolina District 4

Michael Chandler advanced from the Constitution convention for U.S. House South Carolina District 4 on March 26, 2022.

		Candidate
✔	Submit photo	Michael Chandler (Constitution Party)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Justin Bennett completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Bennett's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I young adult, living in Greenville South Carolina. Running for governor is a democratic

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Healthcare access, job creation, education
• Pro choice, immigrant
• Broader security

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Education job creation

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I look up to is former president jimmy carter, because he think about peace and unity.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Leadership and accountability

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Listening to the voter

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Accountability transparency

What legacy would you like to leave?

A peace and unity legacy

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

9/11, COVID

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Mcdonald’s

What is your favorite book? Why?

Bible

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Batman

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

None

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Financial

Governors have many responsibilities, which vary from state to state. Which of those do you personally consider the most important in your state?

Create a better future

Different states require governors to have different degrees of responsibility for the state budgeting process. If it were your choice, what do you believe is the appropriate degree of gubernatorial involvement with this process in your state?

Affordable for the citizens

In most states, governors have the power to make line-item vetoes. If that is true in your state, what would be your philosophy for how and when to use this power?

What in the bill

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and state legislature?

A working one

What do you love most about your state?

When we came together

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Education

Tell us your favorite joke.

Don’t have now

Under what circumstances should the governor of your state be able to use emergency powers?

In a time of emergency

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

None right now

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

Voter how the right to know

Would a state ballot initiative process be good or bad for your state?

Good

A governor is the top executive authority in his or her state. What does that mean to you?

Somebody fight for their citizens

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2022

South Carolina House of Representatives District 25

Justin Bennett did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

U.S. House South Carolina District 4

Justin Bennett completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Bennett's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I was born and raised in South Carolina, raised by a single mother. I am a graduated from Estill high school in Hampton county.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• I fight for you
• Here to make a difference
• The future is here

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Climate change, gun control, fix the justice system, pro-choice, equal rights, and free education

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Young persons, democrats

What legacy would you like to leave?

A great legacy for the future of America

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job is McDonald’s. How long I work at Mcdonalds was like 7 years

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

The ag, the year to be a citizen

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

The national debt, students debt

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Yes, I will compromise on minimum wage

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Justin Bennett campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2022	South Carolina House of Representatives District 25	Lost primary	$0	$0
2022	U.S. House South Carolina District 4	Withdrew primary	$0	N/A**
Grand total			$0	N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

See also

2026 Elections

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Government

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Candidate

Governor of South Carolina

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Footnotes

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