Republican Chris Smith has announced he plans to run for Dist. 26 Senate seat that is currently held by Sen. Nikki Setzler. Below is a copy of Smith’s campaign announcement.

“As South Carolina enters into the 2024 election cycle, Senate District 26 will be one of the top races at the center of the watch list. Democrat Nicki Setzler has held the Senate District 26 seat for 48 years. Setzler recently announced that he will not be seeking reelection. Richland County Democrat Dick Harpootlian has tossed his name into the public arena, indicating he will run for the seat.

On September 12, 2023, Lexington County Republican Chris Smith announced he would be filing to run for the seat. Most constituents of the district recognize his name. Smith ran against Setzler in 2020 and won close to 20,000 votes. He won the Calhoun County portion of the district by a large margin. Smith had made a campaign promise that he would be the voice representing conservative values at the statehouse.

Even though Smith was not victorious in 2020, he continued to demonstrate his commitment to that promise. He is known to frequent the statehouse 2-3 days a week while legislators are in session. Smith has testified in front of several Senate and House subcommittees for various issues such as: The Right to Life Act, Fetal Heartbeat Act, and Save Women’s Sports and most recently the Help don’t Harm bill. Smith also used his voice to show strong support for what is now the Election Integrity Law. The law emphasizes one-person-one-vote, cleaning up voter rolls, and makes voter fraud a felony punishable by $5,000- and 5-years imprisonment per offense.

Smith has been endorsed by state Rep. John McCravy, moderator of the Family Caucus, consisting of 48 House members and 3 Senators, the Senate majority leader. Veterans for Trump has also endorsed Smith. Faithful conservatives in the Senate have indicated that they need help, and Chris Smith is that help.

Chris is the clear conservative choice, and the rapidly growing support for his candidacy shows it.”