Keith Blandford

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

Keith Blandford

Republican Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

June 14, 2022

Education

Bachelor's

Virginia Tech, 1995

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Navy

Years of service

2001 - 2006

Personal

Birthplace

Virginia Beach, Va.

Religion

Anglican

Profession

Commercial construction

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Keith Blandford (Republican Party) ran for election for South Carolina Secretary of State. He lost in the Republican primary on June 14, 2022.

Blandford also ran for election to the U.S. House to represent South Carolina's 1st Congressional District. He did not appear on the ballot for the Republican primary on June 14, 2022.

Blandford completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Keith Blandford was born in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He served in the U.S. Navy from 2001 to 2006. Blandford earned a bachelor’s degree from Virginia Tech in 1995. His career experience includes founding several commercial construction businesses. Previously, he worked for an engineering firm for 10 years and as an environmental enforcement officer for two years.

Elections

2022

Secretary of State

See also: South Carolina Secretary of State election, 2022

General election

General election for South Carolina Secretary of State

Incumbent Mark Hammond defeated Rosemounda Peggy Butler in the general election for South Carolina Secretary of State on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mark Hammond (R)	63.3	1,071,451
		Rosemounda Peggy Butler (D)	36.6	619,341
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	1,109

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,691,901
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Rosemounda Peggy Butler advanced from the Democratic primary for South Carolina Secretary of State.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for South Carolina Secretary of State

Incumbent Mark Hammond defeated Keith Blandford in the Republican primary for South Carolina Secretary of State on June 14, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mark Hammond	75.1	257,131
		Keith Blandford	24.9	85,050

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 342,181
= 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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U.S. House

See also: South Carolina's 1st Congressional District election, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House South Carolina District 1

Incumbent Nancy Mace defeated Annie Andrews and Joseph Oddo in the general election for U.S. House South Carolina District 1 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Nancy Mace (R)	56.4	153,757
		Annie Andrews (D)	42.5	115,796
		Joseph Oddo (Alliance Party)	1.0	2,634
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	494

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 272,681
= 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

• Alejandro Otman (Independent)

Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Annie Andrews advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House South Carolina District 1.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Rebecca Niess Cingolani (D)
• Timothy Lewis (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House South Carolina District 1

Incumbent Nancy Mace defeated Katie Arrington and Lynz Piper-Loomis (Unofficially withdrew) in the Republican primary for U.S. House South Carolina District 1 on June 14, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Nancy Mace	53.1	39,470
		Katie Arrington	45.2	33,589
		Lynz Piper-Loomis (Unofficially withdrew)	1.6	1,221

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 74,280
= 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

• Ingrid Centurion (R)
• Keith Blandford (R)
• Thomas Allen (R)

Alliance Party convention

Alliance Party convention for U.S. House South Carolina District 1

Joseph Oddo advanced from the Alliance Party convention for U.S. House South Carolina District 1 on April 23, 2022.

		Candidate
✔		Joseph Oddo (Alliance 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Lucus Devan Faulk (Labor Party)

2013

See also: South Carolina's 1st Congressional District special election, 2013

Blandford 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. Blandford was defeated in the Republican primary against Curtis Bostic, Ric Bryant, Larry Grooms, 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. Blandford was defeated in the Republican primary on March 19, 2013.

Former Governor Mark Sanford was considered 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. It was 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.

U.S. House, South Carolina District 1 Special Republican Primary, 2013
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Mark Sanford	36.9%	19,854
Curtis Bostic	13.3%	7,168
Ric Bryant	0.2%	87
Larry Grooms	12.4%	6,673
Jonathan Hoffman	0.7%	360
Jeff King	0.4%	211
John Kuhn	6.5%	3,479
Tim Larkin	0.7%	393
Harry "Chip" Limehouse	6.1%	3,279
Peter McCoy	1.6%	867
Elizabeth Moffly	1%	530
Ray Nash	4.7%	2,508
Andy Patrick	7%	3,783
Shawn Pinkston	0.3%	154
Keith Blandford	0.4%	195
Teddy Turner	7.9%	4,252
Total Votes		53,793
Source: Official results via South Carolina State Election Commission

2012

See also: South Carolina's 1st Congressional District elections, 2012

Blandford was defeated by incumbent Timothy Scott. Blandford ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. House to represent South Carolina's 1st District. He faced Timothy Scott (R) and Bobbie Rose (D) in the general election on November 6, 2012.

U.S. House, South Carolina District 1 General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Bobbie Rose	35.7%	103,557
	Republican	Timothy Scott Incumbent	62%	179,908
	Libertarian	Keith Blandford	2.2%	6,334
	N/A	Write-In	0.1%	214
Total Votes				290,013
Source: South Carolina State Election Commission "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

Campaign themes

2022

Video for Ballotpedia

Video submitted to Ballotpedia Released October 18, 2010

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Keith Blandford did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Keith Blandford completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Blandford'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 am a relatively unimportant regular person who has been driven over the years to defend personal liberty. I have worked hard in my life, through self-analysis and development, to engender a sense of independence and freedom in my daily life. I know what it is like to be a slave to habit and narrative, and through taking responsibility of my life; I earned my freedom. Another result of this is that I have become hyper aware of when outside forces intrude on my hard-won personal sovereignty. When my vision cleared through practicing personal responsibility, I noticed right away, that many entities seek to influence and control our lives. From a Governmental standpoint, it was clear that the critical path to controlling our lives resides in the Federal Reserve System. Naively, I ran for Congress in effort to raise awareness on this issue. As my knowledge has grown, I can now see the entire picture. I live completely outside the narrative and now know that the entire governmental system is controlled and manipulated. The critical path now lies in the elections. The power resides in the people and I will do everything in my power to restore their voice.

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?

• The People have lost all confidence in the validity of our elections. This is a bipartisan issue and cannot be ignored, as the establishment is clearly intending. We must address elections first and ensure that we all feel that our voices are sacred and protected.
• The most powerful tool we have as a people right now is the Tenth Amendment. The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. The power resides in the People and this starts locally. We must re-engage in our Civic Duty and have our State Legislators take back powers that have been inappropriately usurps by the Federal Government. The questions isn't, "who is the President?" The question is, "Who is your mayor?"
• Addressing the Elections come first. Everything else is downstream of this issue. No matter your political beliefs, if the elections are being manipulated in your favor, this is temporary. Throughout history, despotic regimes remove independent people first, and then they will come for you.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

1. Elections - whether you personally believe in Election Manipulation or not, this is the issue of our times. We must address this together and come to a mutilated acceptable solution or the Union will dissolve. This is not a hyperbole, the Republic is on the brink.

2. Using a "public health crisis" to circumvent our God Given, Constitutionally protected rights. - They have identified a formula for circumventing the US Constitution. We must close this loop hole. Once we wrestle control away from these unelected public health officials, we must NEVER allow this to happen again.

3. Press. The press is the enemy of the people and has successfully divided us into opposing groups. We must identify their motives and set standards as to how governmental agencies can use the "press" to distribute propaganda and preferred narratives. We must make all governmental interaction with the press, including three letter agenceies, public, so that we can get a better understanding of how we are being manipulated. The press must be addressed.

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

There are so many in so many different aspects of my life. If I have to pick one, it would be my wife. She is from the former Soviet Union. She lived in Siberia where it was -44 degrees. When we met, everything she owned was in one bookshelf. Her friends had disappeared off the streets to work against their will in other Countries, there was no police, and mafia was the law. Yet the resounding theme of her life was and is gratitude. As a spoiled American, I could not be believe she could be grateful given her surrounding, but she was. I learned so much form this. She was also very clear where her life was going and despite terrible odds, she is an American Citizen, living in a beautiful State. She has her own business, two beautiful children and a very very handsome husband. She has been an inspiration to me and without her, I would not be the man I am.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire - know your Emperors

End the Fed - Ron Paul

The Creature from Jekyll Island

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

Resolve and uncompromising hold to personal principles. This is not a popularity contest. The establishment seeks candidates who are personally unfulfilled. Then the establishment provides these officials with what they think they want (money, power, status). Then they have these people on a string. I have watched this process for two decades.

You must be whole before entering into this arena or you will be vulnerable to being used.

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

I am the right man for the right moment. I feel that we need people who will just say it how it is. I can say that the idea of a "successful officeholder" right now, puts a very bad taste in the average Americans mouth. The idea that we should strive to be like this current crop of politicians is absurd.

I know how I am. I know what I want and the establishment can't give it to me. I know that everything outside of self turns to ash, I have pursued them all. I do not drink or do drugs, my relationship with God is my number one relationship and I pray for the Lord's will for me every day. I am not perfect and deeply flawed, but so was David. I have come up the rough side of the mountain and it is my belief that you can't pull any bologna that I have already tried myself. I am an eclectic person who sees how it all fits together. I also don't have any problem saying, "I don't know."

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

Do everything opposite of existing politicians. This is true service. It is not fun, you are not meant to be enriched by it and it is worse than going to the dentist. Stick to your truth and DO NOT BE SWAYED. I believe the elections are manipulated, this is my lane. I will do everything I can to fix this and go home. Don't stay to long, tell the truth, do your best and the GO HOME.

What legacy would you like to leave?

That I told the truth, and did my best. That I did not compromise my principles and helped to restore confidence in our elections process in this critical time in our Republic. I want to help to create the greatest version of the Republic we have ever had and then to go home.

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

I remember seeing President Reagan in Yorktown. I believe it was in 1981.

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

I started working when I was 14 years old as a laborer for a residential building Company in Smithfield, Virginia. I worked in this job every summer until I completed my degree at Virginia Tech. I was there for 10 years.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Tough One. Lets go with the Hornblower Serious where he is on the HMS Sunderland (I think thats right).

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

Jose Wales

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

A Friend in Need - My little Pony, the episode where Twilight Sparkle becomes and alicorn. I have a daughter.

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

In my 20s, I displaced the consequences of actions on God. Anything bad that happened as a result of my own behavior was "God's fault." Therefore, I could continue to act like a fool because God was doing it "to me." It was until my life was a complete disaster that I surrender to the idea that God is there to help me. That God loves me and wants me to be successful. It took tremendous pain to get there, but once I took responsibility for my own life, I gained the freedom I was always looking for. I am not a zealot, but I believe that I co-create my life with God and I truly ask the Lord to use me however he wants. I do this because on my own, I just go in circles.

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

None

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

Absolutely not. One thing that we as Americans have learned is that no one feels represented. It is abundantly clear, the career politicians are personally motivated and do not adhere to the will of the people. This is a bipartisan agreement held in the middle class. Representatives enter politics with meager fortunes, only to leave as millionaires. They own stock in companies that they regulate (i.e.: vaccines). They are an elite club that feels that they rule over the average person. Our government has clearly lost the consent of the governed and do not represent everyday citizens. We must re-engage in our Civic Duty and take our turns in public representation. Its awful and the press and their satellites treat regular people so terrible (the press are true disgrace) that no one wants to do it. But we must. No matter how terrifying, regular people must run for office. Do your part and go home. It my view, anyone in public office right now should be replaced.

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

The Elections. The Press. The Career Politicians. If we do not correct these issues, it is my belief that these United States will balkanize.

If you are not a current representative, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

Whatever is best for the citizens of my State.

If you are a current representative, why did you join your current committees?

NA

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

Yes.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

I am personally term limiting myself to two terms. I also will not take any of their golden parachutes with "pay for life" or "retirement" or whatever. I just want to restore confidence in the election process, return sovereignty to the individual and our State and then go home. I wish we had term limits, but I think it would take a Constitutional Convention, which means the discussion is without merit. The reality is we have politicians who want to be there for life. If we restore a true and unmanipulated election process, maybe, just maybe, when can vote them out.

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

No.

Both sitting representatives and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

The stories I am hearing about the election of 2020 right now from everyday citizens are truly shocking. I have had people in my home, crying on my sofa about what has happened to our Republic. The entire world knows what happened here in these United States and yet we pretend as if it is not happening. I have been so touched by regular people's cries for justice that I decided to return to the terrible process of the elections. Knowing that the press and the establishment are as dark as any forces on earth. Listening to people all over the Union, in churches, in meeting halls and governmental building; it is clear that we are in a true fight of good versus evil and the people know it. The enormity of what we are up against as regular people is not lost on the average citizen and their courage in the face of these odds (Media, Big Tech, Big Pharma, Revisionist History, Marxism, Riots, Unequal application of the law) has been inspiring. Although I know the press we seek to destroy anyone's life who dares to defy the narrative, the people's resolve has given me a lot of hope and courage.

Tell us your favorite joke.

Not happening. I am in the military, you don't want to hear it.

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

I do not believe that policymaking is on the radar. Why discuss the color of the Ferrari when you can't afford it? Number One issue is the Elections. If we do not restore confidence in the elections, there will be no compromise and these United States will balkanize. It doesn't matter if you believe this. History clearly shows the path the American Empire is on.

The Constitution says that all bills for raising revenue must originate in the House. What role would this power play in your priorities if elected?

Whatever is best for the Citizens of South Carolina. I can say that the LAST people on earth that need anymore money is the government.

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.

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