Crossroads 2026: Wes Climer Is Running For Congress

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by WILL FOLKS

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Fiscal conservative champion Wes Climer announced his bid for the U.S. Congress in front of a packed house of supporters at the York County Republican Party (YCGOP) on Thursday evening (July 31, 2025) – touting his lengthy record of accomplishment in the S.C. Senate and his plan to take those same principles to Washington, D.C.

“I’m a small business owner. I’m a financial advisor. I am a lifelong conservative who is sick and tired of watching this country get hollowed out by people who either don’t know what they’re doing or don’t care,” Climer told his hometown crowd. “I have served you in the state senate for the past eight years, and I think you all know this, but I didn’t go there to play games. I went there to get results, and with a whole lot of help from a whole lot of people in this room, that is exactly what we’ve done.”

Climer has been anything but a “go along to get along” politician during his time in the Senate, but can such a maverick approach translate to success in our nation’s capital? Because sadly, in Washington, those who fail to toe the party line often find themselves cleaved from the herd – and left to die in the political wilderness.

“We can turn this thing around,” Climer said. “I believe we can restore sanity and strength and common sense in the halls of Congress if we elect people who are willing to do the hard work and know how to win – not post memes, not just throw tantrums, but actually legislate, actually lead, actually govern, actually put points on the board for the America First agenda. It’s not about being loud, it’s about being effective.”

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Climer said his candidacy will be all about holding both parties in Washington, D.C. accountable – blasting not only the increasingly left-leaning Democrats but also the “Republican” politicians who have enabled them.

“They gutted our economy… they completely politicized our schools, they weaponized the justice system, and they shoved radical garbage down the throats of everyday God fearing Americans,” Climer said of the Democrats. “But here’s the part that Republicans often don’t like to talk about – the Democrats didn’t do that by themselves. They had some help. They had some help from weak Republicans who talked tough back at home and then cave in DC. They had help from career politicians who will never miss a photo op but always whiff on a hard vote when it actually counts from weak men and weak women who care more about their next job than our nation’s future and the future of the next generation.”

In touting his record – which this author has previously praised – Climer zeroed in on his recent battle to block state lawmakers from giving themselves an unconstitutional pay raise.

“When a bunch of politicians tried to give themselves an $18,000 a year pay raise, I sued to block them,” he said. “And I’ll tell you what, I didn’t do that because I was making friends in Columbia. I did that because it is the right thing to do, and you deserve better from them.”

Thanks to Climer’s lawsuit, the S.C. supreme court has issued a temporary injunction against the pay raise.

As FITSNews has previously noted, Climer also led the fight to expose wasteful pork barrel spending in the state budget – another lonely but important battle that drew the ire of many of his establishment “Republican” colleagues. He was also one of the only lawmakers willing to take a principled stand against the Palmetto State’s corrupt judicial selection process – taking on the über-liberal, über-wealthy and über-powerful trial lawyer lobby.

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These principled stands are what prompted this author to describe Climer as “one of the only Republicans in state government capable of running on (not from) their record.”

With sitting fifth district congressman Ralph Norman running for governor in 2026, Climer would certainly appear to be the runaway favorite to win both the GOP nomination – and the general election – for this solidly Republican district.

Bordering North Carolina, the fifth district is home to the fast-growing Rock Hill and Fort Mill areas – and other southern suburbs of Charlotte. It includes all of Cherokee, Chester, Fairfield, Kershaw, Lancaster, Lee, Union and York counties – and parts of Spartanburg and Sumter counties.

Once a Democrat enclave, Republicans won the seat for the first time since Reconstruction in 2010 when future Donald Trump chief of staff Mick Mulvaney ousted powerful House budget chairman John Spratt. When Mulvaney went to the White House in 2017, Norman narrowly won a special election for the seat and has held it ever since.

According to the Cook Political Report’s Partisan Voting Index (PVI), the district leans +11 Republican – slightly less than its +12 rating two years ago.

In addition to launching his own candidacy, Climer issued a key endorsement in the 2026 governor’s race – backing Norman’s candidacy.

“He is exactly the kind of principled conservative we’ve been missing in Columbia and exactly the kind of principled conservative we need in the governor’s mansion,” Climer said. “And I hope all of you will join me in fighting to make sure he gets there.”

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…

Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.

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