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Wes Hayes
Robert W. "Wes" Hayes, Jr. is a former Republican member of the South Carolina State Senate, representing District 15 from 1991 to 2016.
Hayes served in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1985 to 1991.
Biography
Hayes earned his B.S. from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1975. He went on to receive his J.D. from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1983. He has worked as attorney/partner for Harrison Hayes and Guyton Law Firm since 1986.
Hayes was an Officer in the United States Army, 82nd Airborne Division, from 1975 to 1980. He has been an Officer in the South Carolina Army National Guard since 1980.
Committee assignments
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Hayes served on the following committees:
| South Carolina committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Banking and Insurance |
| • Education |
| • Ethics |
| • Finance |
| • Medical Affairs |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Hayes served on the following committees:
| South Carolina committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Banking and Insurance, Chair |
| • Education |
| • Ethics |
| • Finance |
| • Medical Affairs |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Hayes served on the following committees:
| South Carolina committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Banking and Insurance |
| • Education |
| • Ethics |
| • Finance |
| • General |
| • Medical Affairs |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Hayes served on the following committees:
| South Carolina committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Banking and Insurance |
| • Education |
| • Ethics |
| • Finance |
| • General |
| • Medical Affairs |
Issues
Teacher pay
Hayes led a Senate study panel on ways to recruit and retain South Carolina teachers in public schools. Among the suggestions made by the study panel was paying teacher mentors an additional stipend on top of their normal pay, boosting salaries for some teachers and forgiving student loans.[1] Hayes said such initiatives were especially important in rural districts, where communities have found it particularly hard to find high-quality teachers for classrooms, in part because rural districts often pay less than urban and suburban districts and are less attractive places to live. Student loan forgiveness programs were emphasized by the study panel, as current programs require education majors to apply for specific loans as the start of their education that would be forgiven over time during their careers. State Senator Brad Hutto (D), also a member of the study program, said the existing programs punish those who choose to be teachers later. Hayes also noted that those graduating with student debt may be de-incentivized to become teachers, as the minimum first-year pay for a teacher in South Carolina is $29,500, though some districts do pay higher. The panel did not provide dollar figures for their suggestions in the report given to the Senate Finance Committee.[2]
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2016
Elections for the South Carolina State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election took place on June 14, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The primary runoff election was held on June 28, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was March 30, 2016.
Wes Climer ran unopposed in the South Carolina State Senate District 15 general election.[3][4]
| South Carolina State Senate, District 15 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Wes Climer (unopposed) |
100.00% | 39,584 | |
| Total Votes | 39,584 | |||
| Source: South Carolina State Election Commission | ||||
Wes Climer defeated incumbent Wes Hayes in the South Carolina State Senate District 15 Republican primary.[5][6]
| South Carolina State Senate, District 15 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Wes Climer |
51.82% | 4,993 | |
| Republican | Wes Hayes Incumbent | 48.18% | 4,643 | |
| Total Votes | 9,636 | |||
| Source: South Carolina State Election Commission | ||||
2012
Hayes won election in the 2012 election for South Carolina State Senate District 15. Hayes ran unopposed in the June 12 Republican primary and defeated Joe Thompson (I-Petition) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[7][8][9]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Wes Hayes Incumbent |
74.2% | 29,306 | |
| Independent | Joe Thompson | 25.5% | 10,049 | |
| Other | Write-Ins | 0.3% | 115 | |
| Total Votes | 39,470 | |||
2008
Hayes won re-election for District 15 of the South Carolina State Senate with 38,421, ahead of write-ins (274).[10]
Hayes raised $124,603 for his campaign.[11]
| South Carolina State Senate, District 15 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Wes Hayes (R)
|
38,421 | |||
| Write-ins | 274 | |||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of South Carolina scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2016
In 2016, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 12 through June 2.
- Conservation Voters of South Carolina - 2015-2016 scorecard
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental and conservation issues.
- South Carolina Chamber of Commerce - 2016 legislative scorecard & year in review
- Legislators are scored on business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the organization.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 13 through June 4.
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 14 through June 6.
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 8 to June 20.
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2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
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In 2012, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 11 through June 7.
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2011
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2011, click [show]. |
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In 2011, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 11 through June 2. On June 2, 2011, Governor Nikki Haley (R) attempted to call the legislature into an "emergency" special session to begin on June 7 to create the new South Carolina Department of Administration. A lawsuit was filed by Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell (R), in which he contended that Haley's call for a special session was unconstitutional, and that it violated the state Constitution's requirement of separation of powers among the governor, legislature and courts.[12] On June 6, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled 3-2 against Governor Haley, stating that her order violated the Legislature's ability to set its calendar and agenda. The legislature met in a special redistricting session from June 14 - July 1.[13] The legislature re-convened July 26.[14]
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The Palmetto Liberty PAC Scorecard
The Palmetto Liberty Political Action Committee, a conservative, pro-limited government think tank in South Carolina, releases its scorecard for South Carolina representatives and senators once a year. The scorecard gives each legislator a score based on how he or she voted in the two-year legislative term prior to the election on specific issues that the Palametto Liberty PAC thinks are anti-limited government. "Most of the votes shown on the score card are votes that we lost. Now we can identify the Legislators that caused us to lose these votes. These Legislators are the ones who need to be replaced if we are to achieve the vision of having the most free state in the nation."[15]
2012
Wes Hayes received a score of 18% in the 2012 score card, ranking 20th out of all 46 South Carolina Senate members.[16] His score was followed by Senators William O'Dell (18%), Greg Ryberg (18%), and Nikki G. Setzler (18%).[17]
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Hayes and his wife, Sarah Mellon Shurley, have three children.[18]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Wes + Hayes + South + Carolina + Senate"
See also
- South Carolina State Legislature
- South Carolina State Senate
- South Carolina State Senate Committees
- South Carolina Joint Committees
- South Carolina state legislative districts
External links
- Sen. Hayes' website
- Profile from Open States
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign Contributions: 2012, 2010, 2008, 2006, 2004, 2000, 1996
Footnotes
- ↑ WACH Fox57, "Senators: Erasing debt could recruit more SC teachers," December 18, 2014
- ↑ Seanna Adcox, Daily Reporter, "Legislators could explore debt forgiveness and increased pay as ways to keep good SC teachers," December 18, 2014
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "Candidate listing for the 11/8/2016 statewide general election," accessed August 26, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "2016 Statewide General Election," accessed November 28, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "Candidate Tracking," accessed March 31, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "Unofficial primary election results," accessed June 14, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, “2012 General Election – Official Results,” November 19, 2012
- ↑ AP.org, "South Carolina State Senate and State House Election Results," accessed November 7, 2012
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "2012 Candidates," accessed April 25, 2012
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "Official election results for 2008," accessed May 15, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money, "2008 campaign contributions," accessed May 15, 2014
- ↑ The State, "High court rules against Haley," June 6, 2011
- ↑ The Sun News, "S.C. House to have special session in June," May 6, 2011
- ↑ The Island Packet, "S.C. Senate OKs new congressional districted anchored in Beaufort County," June 29, 2011
- ↑ The Palmetto Liberty Political Action Committee, "Voting Records," accessed April 11, 2014
- ↑ Palmetto Liberty Political Action Committee, "South Carolina Senate Score Card 2012," accessed May 15, 2014
- ↑ Palmetto Liberty Political Action Committee, "South Carolina Senate Score Card 2012," accessed May 15, 2014
- ↑ South Carolina Legislature, "Senator Robert W. Hayes, Jr.," accessed August 22, 2016
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by ' |
South Carolina State Senate - District 15 1990-2016 |
Succeeded by Wes Climer (R) |
