ReZsaun Lewis
From Ballotpedia
This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.
ReZsaun Lewis (Democratic Party) ran in a special election to the South Carolina House of Representatives to represent District 97. He lost in the special general election on May 17, 2022.
Lewis also ran for election to the South Carolina House of Representatives to represent District 97. He lost in the general election on November 8, 2022.
Lewis completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
ReZsaun Lewis was born in North Charleston, South Carolina. Lewis served in the U.S. Army from 2001 to 2007. He earned an associate degree from Trident Technical College in 2013. He earned a bachelor's degree from College of Charleston in 2014. He earned a graduate degree from the College of Charleston in 2021. Lewis' career experience includes working as an executive director with Lowcountry Youth Services.[1]
Elections
2022
Regular election
See also: South Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
General election for South Carolina House of Representatives District 97
Incumbent Robby Robbins defeated ReZsaun Lewis in the general election for South Carolina House of Representatives District 97 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Robby Robbins (R) | 68.1 | 9,140 |
 | ReZsaun Lewis (D)  | 31.8 | 4,274 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 12 | ||
| Total votes: 13,426 | |||
| = 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 97
ReZsaun Lewis defeated Damian Daly in the Democratic primary for South Carolina House of Representatives District 97 on June 14, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | ReZsaun Lewis | 64.2 | 845 |
| Damian Daly | 35.8 | 471 | ||
| Total votes: 1,316 | |||
| = 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
Republican primary for South Carolina House of Representatives District 97
Incumbent Robby Robbins defeated Candace Jennings (Unofficially withdrew) and Glenn Posey in the Republican primary for South Carolina House of Representatives District 97 on June 14, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Robby Robbins | 77.9 | 2,669 |
 | Candace Jennings (Unofficially withdrew) | 12.3 | 420 | |
| Glenn Posey | 9.8 | 337 | ||
| Total votes: 3,426 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Special election
See also: South Carolina state legislative special elections, 2022
General election
Special general election for South Carolina House of Representatives District 97
Robby Robbins defeated ReZsaun Lewis in the special general election for South Carolina House of Representatives District 97 on May 17, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Robby Robbins (R) | 63.4 | 1,511 |
| ReZsaun Lewis (D) | 36.2 | 862 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.4 | 10 | ||
| Total votes: 2,383 | |||
| = 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. ReZsaun Lewis advanced from the special Democratic primary for South Carolina House of Representatives District 97.
Republican primary election
Special Republican primary for South Carolina House of Representatives District 97
Robby Robbins defeated Candace Jennings in the special Republican primary for South Carolina House of Representatives District 97 on March 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Robby Robbins | 58.8 | 922 |
| Candace Jennings | 41.2 | 647 | |
| Total votes: 1,569 | |||
| = 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
2022
Regular election
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
ReZsaun Lewis completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Lewis' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I am a native of North Charleston, SC who loves my family, my community, and Jesus. I served in the army for 6 and a half years as a paralegal. I then taught for 5 years in Berkeley and Dorchester County District 2 schools. While teaching, I found a love for working with young men in my community through mentorship which led to me joining Lowcountry Youth Services in 2016. My work in Lowcountry Youth Services has allowed me to see the needs in the community, improve community infrastructure, as well as identify a gap in education, wage, and opportunity. My faith and my family are a key part of my life and impact every decision I make. My wife and I have five children who all attended public schools in Dorchester County. As a former educator and parent, I see the need for leadership that has been on the front lines in education and understands the obstacles that teachers face day today in an effort to provide quality education. My hobbies include listening to music, podcasts, and when I have time, performing.
- The most critical message of my campaign is unity. I am often saddened by the polarization of partisan politics. I believe it is time for people of all political beliefs and backgrounds to come together and find common ground. I believe the people are better served when the mission is to serve the needs of the people rather than win political battles for our parties.
- My second message is a call for elected officials to listen to the people’s voices to determine their needs. I believe the time of elected officials simply assuming they know how to meet their constituents’ needs is over. There needs to be more public forums and opportunities for citizens’ voices to be heard directly by their elected officials, not just through email. Even if elected officials do not always agree with what is being said by their communities, there still must be a considerable effort to seek out their thoughts and opinions on matters that will ultimately affect their lives. As your representative, I will always be clear and transparent about the decisions I make and the sources that inform them.
- The third message of my campaign is to emphasize the need of developing the education system, infrastructure, and small businesses within my community. Teachers and schools are doing everything they can to provide quality education and the legislature should equip them with all the resources necessary to make that a possibility. I think it is critical for legislation to be structured in a way that removes the red tape for non-profit organizations to be able to obtain the resources they need to better serve their communities. I believe small business owners should be able to maintain their life’s work while still paying their employees a liveable wage.
As a former educator, I care deeply for our education system. I’ve witnessed limitations placed on individual schools that directly affect their ability to provide quality education to students. The quality of one’s education should not be based on a student’s zip code and the expectations placed on a student should not be based on socioeconomic status or race. We've seen teacher shortages which I believe directly reflects the lack of appreciation and compensation for educators and as your representative, I will fight for a raise in teacher pay and benefits.
I look up to my grandfather. He is one person in my life I’ve always wanted to imitate and have always admired. We describe him as a “calm lion”. He was not easily frustrated and always carried and represented himself well. I want to have my grandfather’s calm demeanor even in the midst of adversity. Another thing I valued about my grandfather is his ability to see the bigger picture and always do the right thing even when the right decision hurt him as an individual. Politically, you can say my role model is former President Barack Obama. Much like my grandfather, he was calm in face of adversity and a shining example of how not to be dragged in the mud when everything around you is dirty.
The quality that I believe will make me a successful representative is that I have an open mind. This is something that is sorely lacking in modern politics. Everything today is about following the herd one way or the other. Few people are willing to take in new information and make a decision based on the information provided instead of what the popular consensus is. I can sit down with anyone and listen to what they have to say, even if I disagree. We learn our best lessons in life from people we disagree with.
I’d love to leave a legacy of challenging the status quo, questioning why things are the way they are, and if there’s a better way to do them than what has been done previously. I want to leave a legacy of reaching across the aisle to find some commonality with people who believe differently than me. I want my legacy to be that of a person who did not take the easy route in life.
Though I have experienced other significant historical events, September 11, 2001, is the one that resonates the most clearly in my mind. When the attack on the Twin Towers happened I was 19 years old at advanced individual training at Fort Jackson. It was at that moment that I knew the lives of my family, friends, neighbors, and every American citizen would never be the same.
My first job was at Taco Bell. I worked there for roughly two years.
My favorite book is “Between the World & Me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates. I love this book because it’s about a father who just wants his son to understand what experiences in his life make him the man he is. As a father of one son, my son must understand who his dad is and what made me who I am.
If I could be any fictional character I would be Goku from Dragon Ball Z. I love Goku because he is always seeking the next challenge, never fails to push himself harder in every battle, and always fights for good.
The greatest challenge to the state of South Carolina will be to first correct the issues in education. We can not continue to be amongst the worst states regarding educating our children. We have to find a way to support our schools' teachers, administrators, and staff members. This particular issue will bleed into every other area of our state’s viability if we don’t make our schools a priority.
I find it valuable, but I also see how it could be detrimental. Sometimes, you need a fresh set of eyes on the job. Instead, we often see a retread of the same person/mindset in each iteration. It usually doesn’t matter if the legislator represents the interests of the people of the district and state. They are just required to look the part and follow the party line. Many people who work in the government or politics are why we have the problem and lack of effectiveness in the legislature that we currently notice. I think it’s time that we start to bring some new blood into the state legislature that has experience listening to the needs of people and is willing to fight for those needs in Columbia.
As I have in my work in the community, I find it imperative to build relationships with other legislators, especially those across the aisle. We can do no truly great work without considering and bringing all sides and points of view to the table. I look forward to working with all of my fellow legislators to serve the people of South Carolina best.
When considering districting surrounding voting, there should never be counties segmented. By segmenting counties, there are often lines drawn to ensure that one party or another has an expanded opportunity to win a political seat instead of it being for the best of the represented people. The grouped counties should be done so by geographic location and the people's will. You should never have a neighborhood where different streets are different voting districts.
Considering my education and youth development background, I would love to be on the Education and Public Works Committee. My experience working in many aspects of the educational system provides me with unique insight that would benefit the committee.
I honestly don’t know. This is my first foray into the political realm, and I hope to serve the people of District 97 as long as they’ll have me, but I wouldn’t rule out a run for a Congressional seat should the right opportunity appear.
I believe that compromise is the most American aspect of governing. If I am to truly serve the people I can’t just cater to those who agree with me. Being able to listen to others with opposing views is not only important but essential in representation and legislating and this simply cannot occur if we are unwilling to compromise or work with others that whom we disagree politically.
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.
Special election
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
ReZsaun Lewis completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Lewis' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
| Collapse all
I am a native of North Charleston, SC who loves my family, my community, and Jesus. I served in the army for 6 and a half years as a paralegal. I then taught for 5 years in Berkeley and Dorchester County District 2 schools. While teaching, I found a love for working with young men in my community through mentorship which led to me joining Lowcountry Youth Services in 2016. My work in Lowcountry Youth Services has allowed me to see the needs in the community, improve community infrastructure, as well as identify a gap in education, wage, and opportunity. My faith and my family are a key part of my life and impact every decision I make. My wife and I have five children who all attended public schools in Dorchester County. As a former educator and parent, I see the need for leadership that has been on the front lines in education and understands the obstacles that teachers face day today in an effort to provide quality education. My hobbies include listening to music, podcasts, and when I have time, performing.
- The most critical message of my campaign is unity. I am often saddened by the polarization of partisan politics. I believe it is time for people of all political beliefs and backgrounds to come together and find common ground. I believe the people are better served when the mission is to serve the needs of the people rather than win political battles for our parties.
- My second message is a call for elected officials to listen to the people’s voices to determine their needs. I believe the time of elected officials simply assuming they know how to meet their constituents’ needs is over. There needs to be more public forums and opportunities for citizens’ voices to be heard directly by their elected officials, not just through email. Even if elected officials do not always agree with what is being said by their communities, there still must be a considerable effort to seek out their thoughts and opinions on matters that will ultimately affect their lives. As your representative, I will always be clear and transparent about the decisions I make and the sources that inform them.
- The third message of my campaign is to emphasize the need of developing the education system, infrastructure, and small businesses within my community. Teachers and schools are doing everything they can to provide quality education and the legislature should equip them with all the resources necessary to make that a possibility. I think it is critical for legislation to be structured in a way that removes the red tape for non-profit organizations to be able to obtain the resources they need to better serve their communities. I believe small business owners should be able to maintain their life’s work while still paying their employees a liveable wage.
As a former educator, I care deeply for our education system. I’ve witnessed limitations placed on individual schools that directly affect their ability to provide quality education to students. The quality of one’s education should not be based on a student’s zip code and the expectations placed on a student should not be based on socioeconomic status or race. We've seen teacher shortages which I believe directly reflects the lack of appreciation and compensation for educators and as your representative, I will fight for a raise in teacher pay and benefits.
I look up to my grandfather. He is one person in my life I’ve always wanted to imitate and have always admired. We describe him as a “calm lion”. He was not easily frustrated and always carried and represented himself well. I want to have my grandfather’s calm demeanor even in the midst of adversity. Another thing I valued about my grandfather is his ability to see the bigger picture and always do the right thing even when the right decision hurt him as an individual. Politically, you can say my role model is former President Barack Obama. Much like my grandfather, he was calm in face of adversity and a shining example of how not to be dragged in the mud when everything around you is dirty.
The quality that I believe will make me a successful representative is that I have an open mind. This is something that is sorely lacking in modern politics. Everything today is about following the herd one way or the other. Few people are willing to take in new information and make a decision based on the information provided instead of what the popular consensus is. I can sit down with anyone and listen to what they have to say, even if I disagree. We learn our best lessons in life from people we disagree with.
I’d love to leave a legacy of challenging the status quo, questioning why things are the way they are, and if there’s a better way to do them than what has been done previously. I want to leave a legacy of reaching across the aisle to find some commonality with people who believe differently than me. I want my legacy to be that of a person who did not take the easy route in life.
Though I have experienced other significant historical events, September 11, 2001, is the one that resonates the most clearly in my mind. When the attack on the Twin Towers happened I was 19 years old at advanced individual training at Fort Jackson. It was at that moment that I knew the lives of my family, friends, neighbors, and every American citizen would never be the same.
My first job was at Taco Bell. I worked there for roughly two years.
My favorite book is “Between the World & Me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates. I love this book because it’s about a father who just wants his son to understand what experiences in his life make him the man he is. As a father of one son, my son must understand who his dad is and what made me who I am.
If I could be any fictional character I would be Goku from Dragon Ball Z. I love Goku because he is always seeking the next challenge, never fails to push himself harder in every battle, and always fights for good.
The greatest challenge to the state of South Carolina will be to first correct the issues in education. We can not continue to be amongst the worst states regarding educating our children. We have to find a way to support our schools' teachers, administrators, and staff members. This particular issue will bleed into every other area of our state’s viability if we don’t make our schools a priority.
I find it valuable, but I also see how it could be detrimental. Sometimes, you need a fresh set of eyes on the job. Instead, we often see a retread of the same person/mindset in each iteration. It usually doesn’t matter if the legislator represents the interests of the people of the district and state. They are just required to look the part and follow the party line. Many people who work in the government or politics are why we have the problem and lack of effectiveness in the legislature that we currently notice. I think it’s time that we start to bring some new blood into the state legislature that has experience listening to the needs of people and is willing to fight for those needs in Columbia.
As I have in my work in the community, I find it imperative to build relationships with other legislators, especially those across the aisle. We can do no truly great work without considering and bringing all sides and points of view to the table. I look forward to working with all of my fellow legislators to serve the people of South Carolina best.
When considering districting surrounding voting, there should never be counties segmented. By segmenting counties, there are often lines drawn to ensure that one party or another has an expanded opportunity to win a political seat instead of it being for the best of the represented people. The grouped counties should be done so by geographic location and the people's will. You should never have a neighborhood where different streets are different voting districts.
Considering my education and youth development background, I would love to be on the Education and Public Works Committee. My experience working in many aspects of the educational system provides me with unique insight that would benefit the committee.
I honestly don’t know. This is my first foray into the political realm, and I hope to serve the people of District 97 as long as they’ll have me, but I wouldn’t rule out a run for a Congressional seat should the right opportunity appear.
I believe that compromise is the most American aspect of governing. If I am to truly serve the people I can’t just cater to those who agree with me. Being able to listen to others with opposing views is not only important but essential in representation and legislating and this simply cannot occur if we are unwilling to compromise or work with others that whom we disagree politically.
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
|
Candidate South Carolina House of Representatives District 97 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on January 30, 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)
