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Michael Reitz

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Michael Reitz
Image of Michael Reitz

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments
Last election

November 8, 2022

Education

Bachelor's

Clemson University, 2014

Graduate

Southern Wesleyan University, 2019

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

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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
✔
Image of Alan Morgan
Alan Morgan (R)
 
76.5
 
11,431
Image of Michael Reitz
Michael Reitz (D) Candidate Connection
 
23.2
 
3,462
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.3
 
44

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 14,937
Candidate Connection = 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 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
✔
Image of Alan Morgan
Alan Morgan
 
58.0
 
2,122
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Keith Jones
 
42.0
 
1,539

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 3,661
Candidate Connection = 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

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

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!
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

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External links

Candidate

South Carolina House of Representatives District 18
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    Footnotes

    1. ↑ 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
    District 2
    District 3
    District 4
    District 5
    District 6
    District 7
    District 8
    District 9
    District 10
    District 11
    District 12
    District 13
    District 14
    District 15
    JA Moore (D)
    District 16
    District 17
    District 18
    District 19
    District 20
    District 21
    Vacant
    District 22
    District 23
    District 24
    District 25
    District 26
    District 27
    District 28
    District 29
    District 30
    District 31
    District 32
    District 33
    District 34
    District 35
    District 36
    District 37
    District 38
    District 39
    District 40
    Joe White (R)
    District 41
    District 42
    District 43
    District 44
    District 45
    District 46
    District 47
    District 48
    District 49
    John King (D)
    District 50
    District 51
    J. Weeks (D)
    District 52
    District 53
    District 54
    District 55
    District 56
    District 57
    District 58
    District 59
    District 60
    District 61
    District 62
    District 63
    District 64
    District 65
    District 66
    District 67
    District 68
    District 69
    District 70
    District 71
    District 72
    Seth Rose (D)
    District 73
    District 74
    District 75
    District 76
    District 77
    District 78
    District 79
    District 80
    District 81
    District 82
    District 83
    District 84
    District 85
    District 86
    District 87
    District 88
    Vacant
    District 89
    District 90
    District 91
    District 92
    District 93
    District 94
    Gil Gatch (R)
    District 95
    District 96
    D. McCabe (R)
    District 97
    District 98
    District 99
    District 100
    District 101
    District 102
    District 103
    District 104
    District 105
    District 106
    Val Guest (R)
    District 107
    District 108
    District 109
    District 110
    District 111
    District 112
    District 113
    District 114
    District 115
    District 116
    District 117
    District 118
    District 119
    District 120
    District 121
    District 122
    District 123
    District 124
    Republican Party (86)
    Democratic Party (36)
    Vacancies (2)


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