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Keith Grey
Keith Grey (Democratic Party) ran for election to the South Carolina House of Representatives to represent District 45. He lost in the general election on November 8, 2022.
Grey completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Grey's professional experience includes working as a database administrator, sheet metal mechanic, welder, and small business owner.[1]
Grey has been affiliated with the following organizations: [1][2]
- Lindsay Pettus Greenway
- NAACP, Lancaster Branch
- Lancaster Housing Services
- Arbor Day Society
- World War II National Museum
- Playhouse of Lancaster County
- Lancaster County Democratic Party
Elections
2022
See also: South Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
General election for South Carolina House of Representatives District 45
Incumbent Brandon Newton defeated Keith Grey in the general election for South Carolina House of Representatives District 45 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Brandon Newton (R) | 67.3 | 8,124 |
 | Keith Grey (D)  | 32.6 | 3,939 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 16 | ||
| Total votes: 12,079 | |||
| = 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
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Keith Grey advanced from the Democratic primary for South Carolina House of Representatives District 45.
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Brandon Newton advanced from the Republican primary for South Carolina House of Representatives District 45.
Endorsements
To view Grey's endorsements in the 2022 election, please click here.
2020
See also: South Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2020
General election
General election for South Carolina House of Representatives District 45
Incumbent Brandon Newton defeated Keith Grey in the general election for South Carolina House of Representatives District 45 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Brandon Newton (R) | 63.8 | 23,974 |
| Keith Grey (D) | 36.1 | 13,554 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 30 | ||
| Total votes: 37,558 | |||
| = 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
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Keith Grey advanced from the Democratic primary for South Carolina House of Representatives District 45.
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Brandon Newton advanced from the Republican primary for South Carolina House of Representatives District 45.
Endorsements
To view Grey's endorsements in the 2020 election, please click here.
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Keith Grey completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Grey's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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However, my career from 1972 to 1991 was in the Sheet Metal trades, becoming a fabricator, welder, fabrication shop owner, and, finally, the Training Director for East Central Florida Local Union 19. Through self-training (while a single father of a toddler) and computerizing my own business in the mid-’80s, I became a proficient database developer. In 1992, I changed careers, becoming a database administrator at CNL, Inc. when Springs Industries hired me and relocated us to Lancaster in 2003. Since moving here, I have held positions on the Boards of the Community Playhouse of Lancaster County, Lindsay Pettus Greenway, NAACP-Lancaster Branch, and the Lancaster Housing Services. In 2012 I became active in the Lancaster County Democratic Party, serving as a State Convention delegate and representative to the SCDP Labor/Progressive Caucus. I worked as a volunteer coordinator for Senator Sanders’ campaign in 2015-16. At the County Party Convention in 2016, I was elected Chair by the local activists, re-elected in 2018 and 2020. In 2022, I stepped back to 1st VC so my mentee could take over as County Party Chair.
- 1. Wages for working women and men in South Carolina have long lagged in the bottom percentile when compared to the national average. Even by Southeastern standards South Carolina is behind many of its neighbors. This is especially discouraging considering the influx of high tech and manufacturing jobs from companies such as Boeing, Volvo, BMW, and Michelin. As a result, many working people continue to struggle to make ends meet, let alone thrive. I would fight for a $15 minimum wage for ALL workers, without the misogynistic and racist work class exclusions embedded in the current laws. I believe all the big corporations could implement implement this yesterday. Small businesses might need a few years.
- 2. I would heavily lobby my fellow Representatives to enact paid sick leave laws and to immediately find ways to force McMasters to accept Medicaid expansion. We have lost at least six hospitals since the ACA was passed! The Covid-19 pandemic has shown the fatal weaknesses of our current profit-based “system” and we need to be moving toward a single-payer health system.
- 3. It is a well known fact unions help to build the middle class in the United States. Yet for decades the middle class has been shrinking in conjunction with union membership. The protections and guarantees many working people are guaranteed under labor laws are increasingly strained. South Carolina is a proud Right-to-Inslave state which puts many working people at a disadvantage. It puts a strain on union balance sheets due to the fact they must provide the same protections and benefits to those members despite the fact those individuals are not required to pay dues.
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.
2020
Keith Grey completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Grey's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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My career from 1972 to 1991 was in the Sheet Metal trades, becoming a fabricator, welder, fabrication shop owner, and, finally, the Training Director for Local Union 15. Through self training (while a single father) and computerizing my own business in the late '80s, I became proficient as a database developer. In 1992, I changed careers, becoming a Database Administrator. Springs Industries relocated us to Lancaster, SC in 2003.
I have held positions on the Boards of the Community Playhouse of Lancaster County, Lindsay Pettus Greenway, NAACP-Lancaster Branch, and the Lancaster Housing Services.
In 2012 I became active in the Lancaster County Democratic Party, serving as a State Convention delegate and representative to the SCDP Labor/Progressive Caucus. At the County Convention in 2016, I was elected Chair, re elected in 2018 and 2020.
I worked as a volunteer for Senator Sanders' campaign in 2015-16, joining Our Revolution SC in 2016 and became the CD5 co-chair. This August, I was a South Carolina State Delegate for Senator Sanders at the Democratic Convention.
- Progressive Healthcare Reform: Medicaid expansion, legalize medical cannabis, develop & fund community preventive medicine programs.
- Progressive Educational Reform: Provide equitable, sustainable financing of public education to raise us to 25th in the nation;
- Progressive Justice: Reform cash bail bonding, end Qualified Immunity from civil suit, demilitarize the police, decriminalize use of cannabis.
We can create an economy based on the principles of justice, not greed.
We can make health care a human right and not an employer benefit, and pass a Medicare for All, single-payer program.
We can create thousands of good-paying jobs by implementing a Green New Deal and become a global leader in combating climate change.
We can make public colleges and universities tuition affordable again and cancel all student debt.
At this point, I would have to say that it is Senator Bernie Sanders. He has been a fighter for the regular citizens of this country for his entire career. He has shown consistency and courage while thinking way out of the box. While sometimes he has had to compromise on policy, he has never compromised his principles or been a hypocrite.
By Kyle Gillette, PhD, Fellow
Frequent communication with constituents!
Everything accomplished has done by a team - one person can only START the movement.
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.
See also
2022 Elections
External links
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Candidate South Carolina House of Representatives District 45 |
Personal |
Footnotes
