Tom Davis Files For Reelection

SENATOR VOWS TO “MAKE SOUTH CAROLINA THE FREEST STATE IN THE NATION”

There will be dozens of stories over the next two weeks about candidates and elected officials in South Carolina formally filing for various public offices. How come? Well, the filing period in the Palmetto State opened yesterday and runs through noon on March 30.

Hundreds of officials (and wanna-be officials) are throwing their hats in the ring … for all sorts of state and local races.

Sadly, in most cases these announcements deserve either our scorn or our skepticism – scorn in the case of elected officials with a demonstrated hostility to freedom and free markets, skepticism of those making promises under the banner of other interests.

There is one candidate filing for reelection this week whose decision we should greet with something else … a “thank you.”

We’re referring, of course, to S.C. Senator Tom Davis – who formally submitted his paperwork this week to run for S.C. Senate District 46.  Davis won this seat eight years ago – defeating a status quo incumbent “Republican.”  Since then, he has been a force to be reckoned with at the S.C. State House – one of the few lawmakers who can legitimately claim to have consistently advanced the best interests of his constituents.

Long-regarded as one of the preeminent taxpayer heroes in the entire S.C. General Assembly, Davis has upped the ante over the last two years – most notably via his back-to-back filibusters of a proposed gasoline tax hike that appeared destined to become law.

Thanks to Davis, lawmakers have been compelled to address serious issues in infrastructure funding – and have found a way to fund this core function of government without raising taxes.

Davis has also been an aggressive proponent of broad-based individual income tax relief, a taxpayer rebate fund, universal parental choice and free market expansion of the Palmetto State’s struggling state ports system.

Additionally, he’s been a fierce critic of South Carolina’s failed crony capitalist approach to “economic development” – which has put him at odds with most “Republican” elected officials.

Davis doesn’t care … he’s called these deals out anyway.

“As a legislator, my overriding objective has been and always will be to limit the size of state government and to promote individual liberty and economic freedom – to make South Carolina the freest state in the nation and a magnet for entrepreneurs and capital investment,” Davis said in filing his reelection paperwork.

That’s the sort of rhetoric we hear quite often from candidates – but unlike so many under the S.C. State House dome, Davis has walked the walked.  He’s done what he said he was going to do – a rare commodity in public life.

Accordingly, we’re greeting his filing with this gratuitous sop as opposed to our usual scorn and skepticism.

Now if we could just get forty-five other Senators like him …

RAPID REACTION >>>

@senatortomdavis @fitsnews

Tom @senatortomdavis Thanks for your service. We are proud to have you represent us. #hiltonhead

— Andy Twisdale (@AndyTwisdale) March 17, 2016

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