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Steve French (South Carolina)
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 | ||
| ✔ |  | Lawrence Grooms (R) | 58.7 | 42,915 |
 | Kathryn Whitaker (D)  | 38.6 | 28,266 | |
| Steve French (L) | 2.6 | 1,909 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 58 | ||
| Total votes: 73,148 | |||
| = 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
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 |  Nikki 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.
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Steve + French + South + Carolina + Governor"
See also
2020 Elections
External links
Footnotes
