Evert’s Electables General Election November 8, 2016

PLEASE NOTE—  For candidates already in an office, I have been able to check voting records. My comments reflect their voting records over the course of their tenure.  For those who have never run for office before, and who claim a position, I will state their claim, but understand I have nothing by which to verify that claim.  Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. A photo ID is required to vote in .  You must have a legal reason to request a paper ballot; distrust of computers is not a legal reason, nor is preference for a paper trail a legal reason. If you ask for, receive, and vote on a paper ballot, most likely your ballot will be disqualified as not a legally cast vote. Exceptions are absentee and Failsafe Ballots PRESIDENT Trump/Pence Republican New York billionaire and businessman. Most of his businesses have been in real estate and casinos. Running as a populist, conservative, pro-American. He is running as an ―outsider‖ and is a complete outsider to politics and as such has completely befuddled the political pundits. They don’t know what to do with him. He’s running as a pro-life candidate, although it’s clear from his answers in the debates that he doesn’t understand the issue. Trump has come out as very pro-police, pro-gun rights, and a law-and-order candidate. He’s also come out against corruption and has been swinging at the media. One of his big issues is immigration—building a wall and closing the borders, especially from Middle East countries where there’s a potential security issue with lack of proper vetting. Campaigning as a pro-2nd Amendment (right to bear arms) and is endorsed by the NRA. Has produced a conservative list of potential nominees for the Supreme Court. The Democrats and the mainstream media have thrown everything at him, from the kitchen sink to the bathroom sink. Some of it may be true and some of it may not be; at this point it’s hard to tell. I do know that he’s not a very moral man.

For those of you who have read my Electables before, you know that I didn’t pick him in the Primary, mainly because I don’t believe that he’s 1) a Republican or 2) a conservative. It’s entirely possible that he’s changed over the years, although his donations record is all over the place. I’m not sure I trust that he would do what he’s said he’s going to do. But in the General Elections, I usually support the most conservative nominee who has a chance of winning—and he’s campaigned as at least a nominal conservative—and there are conservatives that are supporting his campaign. Mike Pence, his VP running mate, is a true conservative. He is the conservative governor of Indiana. I would be much more comfortable if Pence were the nominee. There are people I know that are voting for Trump because of Pence and that is a reasonable choice.

Hilary Clinton/Tim Kaine Democrat She is the long-time political establishment candidate on the Democrat side. She is a lawyer, former First Lady, Senator, and Secretary of State. Tim Kaine is a former governor of and current senator from Virginia. On issues, Hilary Clinton is very liberal. Her election would be a continuation of the Barak Obama’s administration. She has stated that the Supreme Court opening should be filled with the nominee that President Obama has put forward. A long record of anti-gun votes and she’s campaigning for more gun control laws. She’s also stated that with the Supreme Court tipping in the balance, now is a good time to pick a candidate who will reinterpret the 2nd Amendment away from individual’s rights. She even intimated that the Australian model might be good to follow (the Australian model was outlawing and confiscation of guns). She has made statements in favor of Black Lives Matter and has sided against police, just as the Obama administration has done. In the last debate, she made it very clear that her stance on abortion is that abortion should be legal until the point of birth. Her position on abortion is probably the most extremely articulated one the modern Democrat Party has known. I believe Barak Obama holds the same view, but just didn’t articulate it. She’s received the Margaret Sanger Award from Planned Parenthood. She’s also in favor of federal funds paying for abortions. She’s in favor of the continued legalization of gay marriage and wants the Supreme Court to define gender in a manner in which transgender persons can use the bathrooms based on their choice rather than original biology.

During her time as Secretary of State, she had a private server for email instead of the state-issued and state-secured server. It has been speculated that the intent was to keep her communication hidden from the public eye; but while she was Secretary of State, she and Bill orchestrated a massive pay-to-play program where people made donations to the Clinton Foundation in order to get either contracts of political favors from the Secretary of State. One of the accusations is that Russian firms made donations to the foundation and she signed off on allowing the Russians to buy uranium mines accounting for at least a third of the U.S.’s production. In my opinion, she’s probably the most corrupt person we’ve had run for President in our lifetime.

Gary Johnson/William Weld Libertarian ticket Gary Johnson is the former governor of New Mexico. William Weld is a former governor and senator from Massachusetts. Weld is quite liberal fiscally as well as socially. Johnson was very conservative fiscally while governor; he has strong 2nd Amendment stances. When he was governor, he ran and was elected as a pro-life candidate. This year, after he won the nomination as the Libertarian candidate, he is running openly as pro-choice, pro-gay marriage, pro-legalization of drugs. He was the CEO of a marijuana-legalization company.

I saw an interview where he was asked about that history—he stated that Yes, he had used drugs but had stopped when he made the decision to run for President because the presidency means you’re on the job 24/7. He’s had a couple of notorious interviews where he didn’t know where Aleppo, Syria was and did not know who the leader of North Korea was. Personally, I think the drugs have caused an issue for him mentally. He has also stated that he doesn’t care about religious issues—churches will just have to ―deal with‖ homosexual issues. The Libertarian Party missed a huge opportunity. The most he got was 7% in the polls; currently he’s between 3 and 5%.

Jill Stein Green Party Basically an environmental radical, as well as a socialist. I don’t know that she’s a Marxist, but she’s definitely a socialist. Very much in favor of the national $15/hr minimum wage. Tax the rich. Free college education. Free health care. Very liberal on the social issues. Currently polling at 3%.

Darrell Castle Constitution Party He’s probably the most conservative person running but he has absolutely no chance of winning. I believe he’s close to 40 ballots—meaning he isn’t even on the ballot for all the states.

Evan McMullin Independent He’s on the ballot in 13 states. Mormon from Utah and has never run for office before. Former CIA operative. Running because he’s a ―Never Trump‖-er. His primary objective is to send the presidential election to the House of Representatives. If that cannot be attained, then he just wants to defeat Trump—he doesn’t care if Hilary wins.

Evert: One of the criticisms I have for the minor party candidates is that they use only the Conventional model to select their presidential choice, yet they want open primaries for the major parties. This has been a very difficult year for me to be decisive about whom I want to vote for. I’m probably more voting ―against Hilary‖ than for anyone else. I don’t fully trust Trump, I don’t trust Hillary Clinton at all. I believe he is a slightly more conservative version of Bill Clinton.

Understand the stakes that are on the table—the Supreme Court and, probably more importantly, how the Justices and the federal government either interpret or re-interpret (rewrite several of our core values and amendments). The Supreme Court has already re-interpreted marriage; they’re telling us they’re going to re-interpret gender. If the Democrats win, most of the 1st Amendment would be re-interpreted beyond recognition. The left hates freedom of speech. They absolutely despise freedom of religion and would re-interpret it to be freedom of worship. They would basically interpret the 2nd Amendment away. The 10th Amendment would be gone (states’ rights) and most likely the 4th Amendment (protection from searches & seizures).

Further, the current president and Hilary are pushing to change America by bringing in massive numbers of immigrants. In one of Hilary’s secret speeches that was released by WikiLeaks, it was revealed that she advocated open borders and giving the vote to non-citizens regardless of legal status. The Left in this country does not want to have to convince the people that the Left is correct. They are tired of that. They wish to impose it via the courts and a strong-handed government.

I know many people who cannot/will not vote for Trump and I understand that. But people also need to understand that the Press/Media has decided that they want to help crush and destroy conservative opposition and have joined with the Democrats in making this such an unpalatable election. Some people have chosen to vote for their Party’s nominee, not because they respect or like their Party’s nominee, but because they’re afraid of one-party-rule which is a valid fear. I usually prefer to vote for a candidate, rather than against one; as you can tell from the above, I’m probably just going to be voting against Hillary. In South Carolina, you cannot ―write-in‖ for the office of President, because we vote for Electors, not the actual candidates running for President. So we’re kind of stuck with the six or seven that are on the ballot. Even if Trump wins, we will need to have strong conservatives in both the Senate and the House to keep him in check so make sure you vote on the rest of the offices for true conservatives.

US SENATE Tim Scott Republican Tim Scott is a former insurance businessman. Started at the County Council level, then ran for State House, then U.S. Congress, then was appointed to the seat by the governor when Jim DeMint retired. He was and is considered a Tea Party candidate. He’s considered a fiscal as well as social conservative. He’s pro-life. He will be inclined toward less regulation and more toward business- friendly environments. Got an ―A‖ from the NRA and got their endorsement. He has a pro-life voting record. Out of our two senators, he has the more conservative voting record. Favors charter schools and looking at educational reforms.

Thomas Dixon Democrat He’s running on three tickets—the Democrat’s, the Worker’s Party’s, and the Green Party’s tickets. Got an ―F‖ from the NRA. Pro-gun control; running on criminal justice reform; raising the minimum wage to $15/hr; protecting Planned Parenthood’s federal funding; pro-choice; in favor of labor unions; believes in climate change; wants to protect ObamaCare.

Bill Bledsoe Constitution/Libertarian Bill is running on both the Constitution’s and Libertarian Party’s tickets. He’s a minor party candidate, has raised no money, and has no chance of winning.

Evert: I would enthusiastically vote for Tim Scott. He’s been a fantastic senator.

US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

4th District Congress Trey Gowdy Republican Current incumbent. Pro-life. Received an ―A‖ from and the endorsement of the NRA. Has been appointed to the select committee on Benghazi. He’s a former prosecutor and brings those skills to the table. Favors some criminal justice reforms. I don’t see a need to change.

Chris Fedalei Democrat Surprisingly, got an ―AQ‖ from the NRA, meaning he has given conservative answers to the NRA on gun rights. An attorney who graduated from law school in 2015. He’s running on a campaign of service, his main issue being criminal justice reform. He worked for an anti-death penalty organization in college. His campaign is nearly out of funds and he raised very little to begin with. I could find no public statement from him about his stance on abortion and the way he answered the NRA questionnaire lends the idea that he’s at least in favor of the 2nd Amendment. I do know that he was very much against ’s bill about the transgender use of the bathroom, to the point that Fedalei held press conferences to support the transgenders’ agenda for choice of preferred bathrooms. He’s also very young. He’s 26 years old. He’s raised less than $100,000 for his campaign. I get the impression that he just wants to serve. In his family, public service was something to be valued. I appreciate that but I think his politics are wrong for the district.

Michael Chandler Constitution Minor party candidate who has raised hardly any funding. Has no chance of winning.

Evert: I will enthusiastically be voting for Trey Gowdy.

3rd District Congress Jeff Duncan Republican He is probably the most conservative congressman representing our state. He has been a consistent conservative voice, even bucking the establishment and party leadership. Very strong 2nd Amendment values with the endorsement and A ranking from the NRA. Very strong fiscal and social conservative. He has a very strong pro-life record.

Hosea Cleveland Democrat An insurance salesman. Served in the U.S. Army. Has a B.S. in civil engineering technology. Running as a pro-family values Democrat. Wants to spend money on infrastructure and roads. More gun control. Running as an advocate of the public education system. Wants to increase the minimum wage. Has raised very little money.

Evert: This is an easy choice for me on this race—I support Jeff Duncan.

GREENVILLE COUNTY MOST OF THESE RACES ARE UNOPPOSED. I WILL LIST THOSE WITH NO COMMENTS Sheriff William Lewis, Republican, Unopposed Clerk of Court Paul Wickensimer, Republican, Unopposed Coroner B Parks Evans, Republican, Unopposed Register of Deeds Tim Nanney, Republican, Unopposed

Soil & Water Conservation Dist No one filed for this seat; it will be filled with write in votes.

Bruce Countryman: BJU grad, running as a Write-In. ** There are others running for Write-In, but I do not know their names.

Evert: I would write in BRUCE COUNTRYMAN.

GREENVILLE COUNTY COUNCIL MOST OF THESE RACES ARE UNOPPOSED. I WILL LIST THOSE WITH NO COMMENTS

County Council District # 18 Mike Barnes, Republican. Unopposed

County Council District # 20 Sid Cates, Republican, Unopposed

County Council District # 21 Rick Roberts Republican www.RickRobertsForCountyCouncil.com Local businessman. President of KMC Benefits. He grew up in the Greenville area. Graduated from Mauldin High and then Clemson University. He wants to keep taxes down and spend tax dollars wisely. He wants to bring a businessman’s perspective to County Council. He wants new and improved roads. He wants to enhance and expand green spaces. He wants to listen to residents on what’s needed in their individual neighborhoods. Wants transparency on allocations and spending of taxpayers’ money. Wants to cut excessive spending and be more aggressive on fighting crime.

Bill Michaud Libertarian Running on the Libertarian platform. I couldn’t find much information on him. Several websites said he had not returned their questionnaires. The only Facebook account I found was his personal page.

Evert: At this point I’d vote for Rick Roberts;, although it would do him well to control his temper.

County Council District # 22 Bob Taylor, Republican, Unopposed

County Council District # 24 John Langville Constitution Definitely the more conservative candidate.

Liz Semans Republican She has been the ally of the control-growth and is for passing tree ordinances, higher taxes, less business-friendly agenda. She’s a downtown establishment type.

Evert: If I lived in this district, I’d probably vote for the Constitution candidate, John Langville. He probably has no chance of winning, but at least he’s the better choice.

County Council District # 25 Ennis Fant, Democrat, Unopposed

County Council District # 27 Butch Kirven, Republican, Unopposed S.C. SENATE (4 YEARS) MOST OF THESE RACES ARE UNOPPOSED. I WILL LIST THOSE WITH NO COMMENTS

State Senate District # 03 Kevin Bryant, Unopposed

State Senate District # 05 , Republican, Unopposed

State Senate District # 06 Republican A former prosecutor in the Solicitor’s office. His campaign is based on a fresh new face and a slogan that ―Columbia’s broken‖. He is very articulate and smart. He claims to be pro-life and pro-gun rights. He had endorsed Marco Rubio for President. He’s a newcomer to elected offices and so there’s no voting record to back it up yet. He may vote the right way on social issues because he has to, but he’s not going to fight on behalf of those issues. ―B-― from the NRA, which says a lot in my opinion. This is based just on what he tells the NRA—not even on a voting record. On his FB page he shows his CWP license and claims membership in the NRA; I would love to see his questionnaire answers to see what caused him to be a B-. I think he’s going to be a chamber of commerce type of candidate, but only time will tell.

Roy Magnuson Constitution Appears to have withdrawn from the race following the primaries but his name will still show on the ballot. He is not running an active campaign.

Evert: This is my district. Although I plan on voting for Timmons, I’m unsure whether he’s a true conservative or not.

State Senate District # 07 Glen Robinson Republican A pastor. Currently 4th Vice-Chairman of the Greenville County Republican Party. Got a ―C-‖ from the NRA. Pro-life. Wants to be a candidate who will truly serve the interests of the constituents. Wants to create a better relationship between the community and law enforcement.

Carl B. Allen Democrat Pro-Choice. Got an ―F‖ from the NRA. Former House member. An attorney. Against voter ID. One of the main people to kill the Party Registration bill. Generally speaking, has a liberal voting record.

Evert: This is the majority-minority district. I would vote for Glen Robinson.

State Senate District # 08 (R), Unopposed

State Senate District # 09 (R), Unopposed

State Senate District # 12 (R), Unopposed For those of you who live in this district, I would recommend that you keep your Senator on a short leash for issues like gun control, and some of the other social issues, including the bathroom bill.

State Senate District # 13 (R), Unopposed

S.C. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES (4 YEARS) MOST OF THESE RACES ARE UNOPPOSED. I WILL LIST THOSE WITH NO COMMENTS

SC House District 10 Joshua Putnam Republican Current incumbent. Graduated from North Greenville University. Pro-family, pro-life candidate. Received ―A‖ ranking from and endorsement of NRA. Pro-business growth: reducing regulations, keeping taxes low.

Anna Brown Democrat Parole officer and community specialist with SC Dept. of Juvenile Justice. Either refused or didn’t return the NRA questionnaire. She’s running on more money for education.

SC House District 16 Mark Willis Republican Current incumbent. Local businessman. Received ―A‖ ranking from and endorsement of NRA. Pro- life. Generally speaking, pro-business and reduction of regulations.

Brandon Greene Democrat Either refused to answer or refused to return the NRA questionnaire.

SC House District 17 Mike Burns, Unopposed

SC House District 18 Tommy Stringer, Unopposed

SC House District 19 Dwight Loftis, Unopposed

SC House District 20 Dan Hamilton, Unopposed

SC House District 21 Phyllis Henderson, Unopposed

SC House District 22 Write –In Brett Brocato Engineer at a local firm. Married father of three. Never run for political office before. Has been involved in local ministries. He’s running to give the constituents in District 22 a pro-family, social conservative option. Endorsed by Tony Miller, Chris Baker, and Doug Wavle I am enthusiastically endorsing Brett Brocato.

Brocato is running as a Write-In Candidate, and as such, his name will not appear on the ballot. Voting a straight Republican ticket in this district will only elect his opponent. You must manually select the Write In box and type in his name on the keyboard that will open up. It’s best to put the whole name, but at least a close spelling of the last name will work.

Jason Elliott Republican Local divorce attorney. Former staffer of Senator Jim DeMint. I have no doubts that he is pro-life, but one of the reasons the Democrats came out to support his campaign is because he will not be the leader on this issue that Wendy Nanney was. ―AQ‖ from the NRA which is an extremely good ranking, also their endorsement. He’s said he’s not in favor of raising taxes to fix the road systems. After he defeated Wendy Nanney in the primary, he announced that he was going to be the first openly gay legislator in the state house, which came as a surprise to many of the people in the district, seeing that he did not run as an openly gay man. He had run as a conservative, former staffer of Jim DeMint. Frankly, on the social issues he has not stated nor has the local press been interested in asking about his stance, including his stance on the bathroom bill. Because he wasn’t up-front and honest about his lifestyle during his campaign, he now has a Write-In candidate running against him. Elliott organized and coordinated with Wendy’s former Democrat opponent from six years ago and other Democrat operatives to make sure that Democrats came out to vote for him in the Republican primary to defeat Wendy. It is my understanding that he is in favor of some form of legalization of marijuana; I don’t know if that’s a medical or a recreational legalization. Amazingly, the local media never got around to asking about those social issues.

Evert: I would WRITE IN the name BRETT BROCATO. Mr. Elliott has proven himself to be the type of person who will do whatever he has to do to win which means he also will tell you whatever he thinks you want to hear. If he’s elected, you will have to consistently watch how he votes in the House.

SC House District 23 Chandra Dillard, (D), Unopposed

SC House District 24 Bruce Bannister (R), Unopposed

SC House District 25 Leola Robinson-Simpson Democrat Used to be on the school board. Not a fiscal conservative at all. Got a ―D‖ ranking from the NRA.

Tony Boyce Independent Pastor. Native of Laurens. 1st VP of Greenville NAACP. Running as ―willing to serve my community‖. I don’t see much on his website about issues other than equality issues.

Evert: I’d vote for him because she’s pretty liberal.

SC House District 27 Garry Smith (R), Unopposed

SC House District 28 Eric Bedingfield (R), Unopposed

SC House District 35 Bill Chumley (R), Unopposed

SC House District 36 Rita Allison (R), Unopposed

SPECIAL PURPOSE DISTRICTS S Tyger River Watershed – 3 seats to fill John Dale Forrester, Write – In, Write – In

Rabon Creek Watershed – 3 seats to fill Bobby L Balcombe, Tommy Huffman, Roosevelt Lancaster

Dunklin Fire Dist – 2 seats to fill Ricky Crawford, Harold Ray

Piedmont Public Service Dist – 2 seats to fill Lib Pack, Rudy Rhodes

Evert: For these 4 special service districts, I would just vote for whomever’s on the ballot. I don’t know much about them, but at least they cared enough to file to be on the ballot. GREENVILLE COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD (NON-PARTISAN) District 17 Joy Grayson, Unopposed

District 19 Charles E Winfield (Republican; has run for school board at least twice, plus County Council twice, and for a state senate seat. He’s run as a Republican, Democrat, Independent, and petition candidate. There have been campaigns where we’ve worked together.)

Myra Yeargin Gallagher (will raise taxes)

Monica Miller Wofford (withdrawn, but name will be on ballot)

Debi Bush (will raise taxes)

Evert: I would probably vote for Winfield by default. He’s at least a Republican. The rest are just establishement types who have no trouble raising taxes and spending your money.

District 21 Danna Rochleder (incumbent; liberal—voted for every tax increase)

Michael C Stewart (very little info; he refused to attend the forum or send info)

District 23 Glenda Morrison Fair, Incumbent, Unopposed (liberal)

District 25 Kenneth Baxter (incumbent, will raise taxes)

Michelle Goodwin Calwile (retired from Grvl County schools in July; willing to increase taxes)

Justin Stoddard (grad of Woodmont High in 2006)

Evert: I wouldn’t vote for any of these.

District 27 Crystal Ball OConnor, Incumbent, Unopposed (liberal)

COUNTY-WIDE REFERENDUM Shall the South Carolina Department of Revenue be authorized to issue temporary permits in this county for a period not to exceed twenty-four hours to allow the possession, sale, and consumption of alcoholic liquors by the drink to bona fide nonprofit organizations and business establishments authorized to be licensed for consumption-on-premises sales and to allow the sale of beer and wine at permitted off- premises locations without regard to the days or hours of sales?"

Explanation: If you want alcohol sales to be legal on Sundays, vote Yes. If you don’t, vote No.

About the Author, Evert Headley

Evert has been involved with politics since 1989, both at state and local levels. He considers himself to be a Reagan conservative (conservative on social, economic, and national security issues). His first issue is always the Right to Life (without that right, which is endowed by our Creator, none of the other rights even exists). His second issue is always the Second Amendment (the right to bear arms) because this right guarantees the ability of individuals and states to defend the other rights. His third issue is always the First Amendment (freedom of religion, speech and assembly). His fourth issue is the defense of capitalism and the defeat of Socialism/Marxism/Fascism, along with the protection of private property rights. On the national level, we are printing too much money, spending too much money, and borrowing too much money. The federal government is trying to usurp and infringe upon the rights reserved to the states and to the individuals.

Produced by Evert Headley [email protected]