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Steve French (South Carolina): Difference between revisions

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Latest revision as of 08:32, 8 November 2025

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This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.
Steve French
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Elections and appointments
Last election
November 3, 2020
Personal
Profession
Business owner
Contact

Steve French (Libertarian Party) ran for election to the South Carolina State Senate to represent District 37. He lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.

French was a Libertarian candidate for Governor of South Carolina in the 2014 elections.[1] French lost in the general election on November 4, 2014.

French operates a business that converts grease into biofuel.[1]


Elections

2020

See also: South Carolina State Senate elections, 2020

General election

General election for South Carolina State Senate District 37

Incumbent Lawrence Grooms defeated Kathryn Whitaker and Steve French in the general election for South Carolina State Senate District 37 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Lawrence Grooms
Lawrence Grooms (R)
 
58.7
 
42,915
Image of Kathryn Whitaker
Kathryn Whitaker (D) Candidate Connection
 
38.6
 
28,266
Steve French (L)
 
2.6
 
1,909
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
58

Total votes: 73,148
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Kathryn Whitaker advanced from the Democratic primary for South Carolina State Senate District 37.

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Lawrence Grooms advanced from the Republican primary for South Carolina State Senate District 37.

2014

See also: South Carolina gubernatorial election, 2014

French ran for election to the office of Governor of South Carolina. French won the Libertarian nomination unopposed. The general election took place on November 4, 2014.

Results

General election
Governor of South Carolina, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngNikki Haley Incumbent 55.9% 696,645
     Democratic Vincent Sheheen 41.4% 516,166
     Libertarian Steve French 1.2% 15,438
     Independent Tom Ervin 0.9% 11,496
     United Citizens Morgan Reeves 0.5% 5,622
     Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.1% 934
Total Votes 1,246,301
Election results via South Carolina State Election Commission

Debates

October 14 debate

Charleston State University hosted a debate featuring all five candidates for governor. Nikki Haley (R) and Vincent Sheheen (D) criticized each other on the issue of ethics. Sheheen criticized Haley for past accusations of illegal lobbying during her time as a state legislator. Haley responded that she was cleared of charges twice by the state House in 2012 and that Sheheen voted against a proposed ethics reform law twice over the past two years. Sheheen said that the Republican-supported reform would not go far enough to deal with lobbying concerns.[2]

The three third-party candidates discussed their stances on marijuana legalization and job creation. Independent candidate Tom Ervin argued against the legalization of marijuana, suggesting that medical evidence showed lowered intelligence from habitual use. United Citizens Party candidate Morgan Reeves countered Ervin's points by stating that marijuana could produce tax revenue for the state. Libertarian Party candidate Steve French opposed increasing the state's minimum wage. On the issue of jobs, Haley pointed to a previous announcement that 57,000 jobs would be created throughout the state; Sheheen alleged that only half of those jobs have been created in her first term.[2]


Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Steve French did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2014

French highlighted several of his key issues in his 2014 race.[1]

  • Eliminating personal and corporate income taxes in favor of increased sales tax
  • "Ending restrictions" on marijuana use, gay marriage and abortion rights
  • Making state government more transparent

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.


Steve French campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2020South Carolina State Senate District 37Lost general$23,327 N/A**
2014South Carolina GovernorLost $22,125 N/A**
Grand total$45,452 N/A**
Sources: OpenSecretsFederal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Recent news

This section links to a Google news search for the term "Steve + French + South + Carolina + Governor"

See also


External links

Campaign Facebook
Campaign Twitter

Footnotes


Current members of the South Carolina State Senate
Leadership
Senate President:Thomas Alexander
Majority Leader:Shane Massey
Minority Leader:Brad Hutto
Senators
District 1
District 2
Rex Rice (R)
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
Vacant
District 13
District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
District 18
District 19
District 20
Ed Sutton (D)
District 21
District 22
District 23
District 24
Tom Young (R)
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
District 41
District 42
District 43
District 44
District 45
District 46
Tom Davis (R)
Republican Party (33)
Democratic Party (12)
Vacancies (1)