Harvey S. Peeler Jr.
Harvey Peeler | |
---|---|
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1st President of the South Carolina Senate | |
In office January 8, 2019 – December 6, 2021 | |
Preceded by | Office established[a] |
Succeeded by | Thomas C. Alexander |
Member of the South Carolina Senate | |
Assumed office January 14, 1981 | |
Preceded by | John David Long III |
Constituency | 5th district (1981–1985) 14th district (1985–present) |
Personal details | |
Born | Gaffney, South Carolina, U.S. | September 8, 1948
Political party | Republican (1989–present) |
Other political affiliations | Democratic (before 1989) |
Spouse | Ila LaDonna Caudill |
Relations | Bob Peeler |
Education | Clemson University (BS) |
Profession | Dairyman, businessman |
Harvey Smith Peeler Jr. (born September 8, 1948) is an American politician.[1][2] He is a member of the South Carolina Senate, representing the 14th District from since the 1980s, initially as a Democrat, and from October 1989, as a Republican. He was the Senate Majority Leader from 2005 to 2016[1] and President of the Senate from 2019 to 2021. In 2021, he became Chair of the Finance Committee after the death of Hugh Leatherman.[3][4]
S.C. Senate
[edit]Peeler has served as a state senator for South Carolina since 1981.[1][2] He became Senate Majority Leader in 2005 after the resignation of Hugh Leatherman.[5][6] He resigned as Majority Leader in 2016, passing the position to A. Shane Massey.[7][8]
In Peeler's first year in the state senate, he formed a voting bloc with Hugh Leatherman.[9] In 1989, he was one of five Democratic South Carolina legislators to switch to the Republican Party from the Democratic.[10]
He has previously chaired the Senate Medical Affairs Committee, and served as vice-chairman of the Senate Finance Committee since 2007.[1] Peeler currently serves on the Senate Ethics, Interstate Cooperation, Medical Affairs and Transportation Committees.[11]
Controversies
[edit]Confederate flag
[edit]In 2015, after the shooting at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, which killed fellow State Senator Clementa C. Pinckney, Peeler voted against removing the Confederate flag. Peeler compared removing it to "removing a tattoo from the corpse of a loved one and thinking that that would change the loved one's obituary."[12] He was one of only three state senators to vote against its removal, the other two being Danny Verdin and Lee Bright.[12][13] Fifteen years earlier, Peeler was one of only seven senators who voted against the flag's removal from the top of the South Carolina Capitol Dome and both chambers of the South Carolina Legislature to its present position on the capitol grounds, arguing that the flag's removal would only worsen race relations.[14] The 2000 vote was a compromise between anti- and pro-flag forces in the wake of an economic boycott of the state.[15]
Personal life
[edit]Peeler was born on September 8, 1948, in Gaffney, South Carolina.[1] He received a Bachelor of Science from Clemson University in 1970.[1][2] He served as a lieutenant in the United States Army from 1970 to 1972.[1] He is a dairyman.[1][2]
Peeler married Ila LaDonna Caudill on August 8, 1969, and they have three children: Brantlee Rene, Harvey Smith III, and Boone Solomon.[1] He is the brother of former South Carolina Lieutenant Governor Bob Peeler. Peeler attends Gaffney First Baptist Church.[1] He is a Mason and a Shriner.[1] He is a member of the American Jersey Cattle Association and the American Legion.[1]
Electoral history
[edit]Year | Office | Type | Party | Main opponent | Party | Votes for Peeler | Result | Swing | Ref. | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total | % | P. | ±% | |||||||||||||
1980 | S.C. Senator | General | Democratic | Write-in | N/A | 33,268 | 99.97% | 1st | N/A | Won | Hold | [16] | ||||
1984 | General | Democratic | James Y. Sparks | Republican | 14,558 | 73.09% | 1st | -26.88% | Won | Hold | [17] | |||||
1988 | General | Democratic | Write-in | N/A | 14,685 | 96.76% | 1st | +23.67% | Won | Hold | [18] | |||||
1992 | General | Republican | Larry Sossamon | Democratic | 13,292 | 51.53% | 1st | -45.23% | Won | Hold[b] | [19][c] | |||||
1996 | General | Republican | Henry L. Jolly | Democratic | 15,612 | 61.92% | 1st | +10.39% | Won | Hold | [20] | |||||
2000 | General | Republican | Write-in | N/A | 21,739 | 99.76% | 1st | +37.84% | Won | Hold | [21] | |||||
2004 | General | Republican | Rick Dizbon | Democratic | 22,957 | 69.48% | 1st | -30.28% | Won | Hold | [22] | |||||
2008 | General | Republican | Write-in | N/A | 29,179 | 99.22% | 1st | +29.74% | Won | Hold | [23] | |||||
2012 | General | Republican | Write-in | N/A | 31,620 | 99.13% | 1st | -0.09% | Won | Hold | [24] | |||||
2016 | Rep. primary | Republican | Kenny Price | Republican | 5,196 | 82.87% | 1st | N/A | Won | N/A | [25] | |||||
General | Republican | Write-in | N/A | 36,427 | 99.09% | 1st | -0.04% | Won | Hold | [26] | ||||||
2020 | General | Republican | Sarah Work | Alliance | 42,377 | 83.86% | 1st | -15.23% | Won | Hold | [27][28][29] |
Notes
[edit]- ^ A constitutional amendment combined the offices of president pro tempore and lieutenant governor to create the president of the senate.
- ^ Peeler switched parties in 1989.
- ^ Note that the numbers in the table for State Senate District 14 incorrectly list the U.S. House votes for Cherokee County. Additionally, the Union County votes are also incorrect when compared with the County-specific record. Adjusting for these errors in the aggregate table gives the correct vote total and result, whereas the table as recorded suggests Sossamon won.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l South Carolina Senate biography
- ^ a b c d Official website
- ^ "Harvey Peeler replaces Hugh Leatherman as Senate Finance Committee chairman". 6 December 2021.
- ^ "SC Senate names Thomas Alexander new president as Harvey Peeler steps down". 8 December 2021.
- ^ "Peeler to Replace Leatherman as Majority Leader". 26 May 2005.
- ^ "Peeler assumes Senate Republican leadership post".
- ^ "Harvey Peeler to step down as Senate majority leader".
- ^ "Massey Named New SC Senate Majority Leader". 6 April 2016.
- ^ Wilks, Avery G.; Hobbs, Stephen (April 8, 2020). "How Hugh Leatherman took control of South Carolina's budget and built a political empire". Post and Courier. Retrieved 2020-10-16.
- ^ "Politics: After 125 years, S.C. is becoming a two-party state". GoUpstate.com. Gannett Co., Inc. December 29, 1989. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
- ^ "Senate Standing Committees". South Carolina Legislature. 2024. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
- ^ a b Roldan, Cynthia; Kropf, Schuyler (6 July 2015). "S.C. Senate: Flag needs to come down; House vote next". The Post and Courier. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
To remove the flag from the Statehouse grounds and thinking it would change history would be like removing a tattoo from the corpse of a loved one and thinking that that would change the loved one's obituary. That won't change history.
- ^ Smith, Tim (6 July 2015). "Senate gives approval to remove Confederate flag; Third reading tomorrow". Greenville News. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
- ^ Firestone, David. "S. Carolina Senate Votes To Remove Confederate Flag". The New York Times on the Web. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
- ^ Braun, Stephen (13 April 2000). "South Carolina Senate Moves to End Stalemate on Confederate Flag". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
- ^ "Report of the South Carolina Election Commission For the Period Ending June 30, 1981" (PDF). South Carolina Election Commission. Retrieved 2024-07-09.
- ^ "Report of the South Carolina Election Commission For the Period Ending June 30, 1985" (PDF). South Carolina Election Commission. Retrieved 2024-07-09.
- ^ "South Carolina Election Commission Annual Report 1988–1989" (PDF). South Carolina Election Commission. Retrieved 2024-07-09.
- ^ "South Carolina Election Commission Annual Report 1992–1993" (PDF). South Carolina Election Commission. Retrieved 2024-07-09.
- ^ "South Carolina Election Report 1995–1996" (PDF). South Carolina Election Commission. Retrieved 2024-07-09.
- ^ "South Carolina Election Report 2000" (PDF). South Carolina Election Commission. Retrieved 2024-07-09.
- ^ "South Carolina Election Report 2004" (PDF). South Carolina Election Commission. Retrieved 2024-07-09.
- ^ "2008 General Election: State Senate, District 14". South Carolina Election Commission. 2009-06-01. Retrieved 2024-07-09.
- ^ "2012 General Election: State Senate, District 14". South Carolina Election Commission. 2013-04-09. Retrieved 2024-07-09.
- ^ "2016 Republican and Democratic Primaries: State Senate, District 14 - REP". South Carolina Election Commission. 2016-07-26. Retrieved 2024-07-09.
- ^ "2016 Statewide General Election: State Senate, District 14". South Carolina Election Commission. 2023-02-01. Retrieved 2024-07-09.
- ^ Statehouse Report (April 3, 2020). "NEW for 4/3: Who's running and who's not; Sanford; Hard times ahead; Elections – Statehouse Report". www.statehousereport.com. Retrieved 2024-04-22.
- ^ "2020 Statewide General Election: State Senate, District 14". South Carolina Election Commission. 2023-06-30. Retrieved 2024-07-09.
- ^ Dys, Andrew (November 4, 2020). "SC House incumbents in York, Chester, Lancaster had challengers. Who's keeping seats?". The Herald. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
External links
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- 1948 births
- 21st-century South Carolina politicians
- 21st-century American legislators
- American Freemasons
- Clemson University alumni
- Dairy farmers
- Living people
- People from Gaffney, South Carolina
- Republican Party South Carolina state senators
- Baptists from South Carolina
- 21st-century Baptists
- 21st-century American farmers
- 20th-century South Carolina politicians
- 20th-century American legislators
- American politicians who switched parties