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Michael Reitz
From Ballotpedia
This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.
Michael Reitz (Democratic Party) ran for election to the South Carolina House of Representatives to represent District 18. Reitz lost in the general election on November 8, 2022.
Reitz completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Michael Reitz earned a bachelor's degree from Clemson University in 2014 and a graduate degree from Southern Wesleyan University in 2019.[1]
Elections
2022
See also: South Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
General election for South Carolina House of Representatives District 18
Incumbent Alan Morgan defeated Michael Reitz in the general election for South Carolina House of Representatives District 18 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Alan Morgan (R) | 76.5 | 11,431 |
 | Michael Reitz (D)  | 23.2 | 3,462 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 44 | ||
| Total votes: 14,937 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Michael Reitz advanced from the Democratic primary for South Carolina House of Representatives District 18.
Republican primary election
Republican primary for South Carolina House of Representatives District 18
Incumbent Alan Morgan defeated Keith Jones in the Republican primary for South Carolina House of Representatives District 18 on June 14, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Alan Morgan | 58.0 | 2,122 |
| Keith Jones | 42.0 | 1,539 | ||
| Total votes: 3,661 | |||
| = 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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Wyatt Miler (R)
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Michael Reitz completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Reitz's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I'm running to bring the representation to the State House that our community deserves. I'm interested in the middle ground between standing up for what I believe in and representing the interests of my community. I genuinely believe there is a middle ground where most of us agree, and I offer a better representation of those middle grounds than the alternative. The General Assembly is spending too much time and effort on misguided or unimportant things, and not enough on the things that matter. I want my neighbors to feel they are actually represented in state government, and that is what I offer.
I am an engineer, working for a small process controls and automation firm. I am a hunter, regularly hunting Lake Cunningham in season. And lastly, I am a hobbyist mechanic, and I built my own car.
- Fund public schools. Investing in education is one of the greatest obligations of a society. Teaching ought not to require a vow of poverty, and we need to have enough well-equipped classrooms for all of our students.
- Women's healthcare. The patient's room isn't big enough for a woman, her healthcare provider, and the government. Full access to reproductive healthcare empowers women.
- Legalize marijuana. Regulation would increase state revenues, free up law enforcement priorities, keep people out of the justice system, reduce opioid addictions, and provide safer options for those who wish to use it.
I stand for a woman's right to choose her own reproductive healthcare, funding public schools, and legalizing marijuana. I think my neighbors deserve better and more accountable representation in the General Assembly.
Courage and wisdom. A representative should have the strength to stand up for those who would stand to lose their rights, but also have the wisdom to take the input of their communities and evolve their perspectives as necessary.
Accessibility and accountability. My constituents should be able to make their representative priorities known, and the community should be able to set expectations for their representative's legislative priorities.
I was in fifth grade on 9/11. I remember watching the news when I got home from school (early), and trying to wrap my head around what it all meant. Fast forward nearly 21 years later, and we still have troops in the Middle East, with Americans fighting a war that was started before they were born.
I worked a summer as a mechanic in a small independent shop. I started out changing oil and sweeping floors, and finished out doing alignments and other small jobs like replacing radiators and suspension. I learned the critical function of informing the customer while serving them, that you can't look out for the interests of the folks you're serving without fully communicating with them.
I've read Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett more times than I can count. I love the idea that people can be so inspired to work towards a goal they know they will never see finished. In this book, a church is built by an English community in the Middle Ages despite the efforts of local government and bad actors within the Church of England. It takes several generations to complete!
I am also inspired by President Jack Ryan in Executive Orders by Tom Clancy. The ideal non-politician's politician, he rebuilds the government after a terrorist attack by asking governors to send him a Congress of engineers, physicians, cops, and farmers, not people who want to live in Washington. Interestingly enough, he also gives a speech where he says despite his personal opposition to abortion, he doesn't feel it's the federal government's place to ban it. His political advisor follows up his speech by informing President Ryan that he's alienated both the pro-choice and anti-abortion groups, and welcome to politics!
I am also inspired by President Jack Ryan in Executive Orders by Tom Clancy. The ideal non-politician's politician, he rebuilds the government after a terrorist attack by asking governors to send him a Congress of engineers, physicians, cops, and farmers, not people who want to live in Washington. Interestingly enough, he also gives a speech where he says despite his personal opposition to abortion, he doesn't feel it's the federal government's place to ban it. His political advisor follows up his speech by informing President Ryan that he's alienated both the pro-choice and anti-abortion groups, and welcome to politics!
The governor should direct the General Assembly to address topics as they feel they have been charged to do by the citizens of the state, and exercise veto powers only when the legislature's outcomes are in conflict. Likewise, the state legislature should work towards goals as directed by the Governor, but also as directed by their constituents. This can create differing priorities, and it is up to the representative to choose their legislative actions.
While South Carolina's economy is competitive, we still lag behind national averages in education and in healthcare outcomes. We have consistently and intentionally underfunded schools and underpaid teachers, which sets the state up to underperform economically in the future. We are among the worst states in the nation in infant and maternal mortality, and must increase access to healthcare for all people.
Our two-body state legislature has pros and cons in the same singular aspect, that it provides for additional opportunities for checks and balances in the representation of our communities. On one hand, passing legislation requires agreement from two bodies, which may lead to better laws due to increased deliberation. On the other hand, it can hinder progress as there are more opportunities for legislative initiatives to stall.
I believe that as politics become more local, it is less necessary for legislators to have prior political experience. The General Assembly is supposed to represent the interests of citizens, and career politicians can be out of touch with the needs of the common people. True citizen-politicians better understand what is required of the representation of their communities, and state legislative positions are a great opportunity for non-politicians to represent their neighbors.
Yes. Building relationships with other legislators is critical to progress. We should all be able to count on each other having the interests of our constituents at heart, but having a colleague with a personal relationship is key to building bridges to get the work done.
Redistricting should be done through an independent and nonpartisan body. Drawing discriminatory district lines is outlawed, but history has shown that redistricting based on partisan interests is frequently conflated with drawing district lines designed to disenfranchise underprivileged communities.
Yes. No one person is the ultimate representation for their entire community, and no two communities are identical. What is best for one district may not be best for the state, so compromise is necessary to achieve the best outcome for all.
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
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on September 4, 2022
Current members of the South Carolina House of Representatives
Leadership
Speaker of the House:G. Murrell Smith
Majority Leader:Davey Hiott
Minority Leader:James Rutherford
Representatives
District 1
Bill Whitmire (R)
District 2
Adam Duncan (R)
District 3
Phillip Bowers (R)
District 4
Davey Hiott (R)
District 5
Neal Collins (R)
District 6
April Cromer (R)
District 7
Lee Gilreath (R)
District 8
Don Chapman (R)
District 9
Blake Sanders (R)
District 10
Thomas Beach (R)
District 11
Craig Gagnon (R)
District 12
Daniel Gibson (R)
District 13
John McCravy (R)
District 14
Luke Rankin (R)
District 15
JA Moore (D)
District 16
Mark Willis (R)
District 17
Mike Burns (R)
District 18
Alan Morgan (R)
District 19
Patrick Haddon (R)
District 20
Stephen Frank (R)
District 21
Vacant
District 22
Paul Wickensimer (R)
District 23
Chandra Dillard (D)
District 24
Bruce Bannister (R)
District 25
Wendell Jones (D)
District 26
David Martin (R)
District 27
David Vaughan (R)
District 28
Chris Huff (R)
District 29
Dennis Moss (R)
District 30
Brian Lawson (R)
District 31
Rosalyn Myers (D)
District 32
Scott Montgomery (R)
District 33
Travis Moore (R)
District 34
Sarita Edgerton (R)
District 35
Bill Chumley (R)
District 36
Robert Harris (R)
District 37
Steven Long (R)
District 38
Josiah Magnuson (R)
District 39
Cal Forrest (R)
District 40
Joe White (R)
District 41
Annie McDaniel (D)
District 42
Doug Gilliam (R)
District 43
Randy Ligon (R)
District 44
Mike Neese (R)
District 45
Brandon Newton (R)
District 46
Heath Sessions (R)
District 47
Tommy Pope (R)
District 48
Brandon Guffey (R)
District 49
John King (D)
District 50
Keishan Scott (D)
District 51
J. Weeks (D)
District 52
Jermaine Johnson (D)
District 53
Richie Yow (R)
District 54
Jason Luck (D)
District 55
Jackie Hayes (D)
District 56
Tim McGinnis (R)
District 57
Lucas Atkinson (D)
District 58
Jeff Johnson (R)
District 59
Terry Alexander (D)
District 60
Phillip Lowe (R)
District 61
Carla Schuessler (R)
District 62
Robert Williams (D)
District 63
Jay Jordan (R)
District 64
Fawn Pedalino (R)
District 65
Cody Mitchell (R)
District 66
Jackie Terribile (R)
District 67
G. Murrell Smith (R)
District 68
Heather Crawford (R)
District 69
Chris Wooten (R)
District 70
Robert Reese (D)
District 71
District 72
Seth Rose (D)
District 73
Christopher Hart (D)
District 74
James Rutherford (D)
District 75
Heather Bauer (D)
District 76
Leon Howard (D)
District 77
Kambrell Garvin (D)
District 78
Beth Bernstein (D)
District 79
Hamilton Grant (D)
District 80
Kathy Landing (R)
District 81
Charles Hartz (R)
District 82
William Clyburn (D)
District 83
Bill Hixon (R)
District 84
Melissa Oremus (R)
District 85
Jay Kilmartin (R)
District 86
Bill Taylor (R)
District 87
Paula Calhoon (R)
District 88
Vacant
District 89
Micah Caskey (R)
District 90
Justin Bamberg (D)
District 91
Lonnie Hosey (D)
District 92
Brandon Cox (R)
District 93
Jerry Govan (D)
District 94
Gil Gatch (R)
District 95
District 96
D. McCabe (R)
District 97
Robby Robbins (R)
District 98
Chris Murphy (R)
District 99
Mark Smith (R)
District 100
Sylleste Davis (R)
District 101
Roger Kirby (D)
District 102
Harriet Holman (R)
District 103
Carl Anderson (D)
District 104
William Bailey (R)
District 105
Kevin Hardee (R)
District 106
Val Guest (R)
District 107
Case Brittain (R)
District 108
Lee Hewitt (R)
District 109
District 110
Tom Hartnett (R)
District 111
Wendell Gilliard (D)
District 112
Joe Bustos (R)
District 113
Courtney Waters (D)
District 114
Gary Brewer (R)
District 115
Spencer Wetmore (D)
District 116
James Teeple (R)
District 117
Jordan Pace (R)
District 118
Bill Herbkersman (R)
District 119
District 120
Weston Newton (R)
District 121
Michael Rivers (D)
District 122
Bill Hager (R)
District 123
Jeff Bradley (R)
District 124
Shannon Erickson (R)
Republican Party (86)
Democratic Party (36)
Vacancies (2)
