American politician
Dwight A. Loftis (born February 4, 1943) is an American politician and retired insurance agent from South Carolina . A member of the South Carolina Senate from 2019 to 2024, he previously represented district 19 in the South Carolina House of Representatives for 23 years from 1996 to 2019. He is a member of the Republican party.
S.C. House of Representatives (1996–2019)
From 1996 to 2019, Loftis represented district 19 in the South Carolina House of Representatives . His entry to the office was upon winning a January 1996 special election.[ 4]
S.C. Senate
From 2019 to 2024, Loftis represented South Carolina's 6th Senate District (a portion of Greenville County ). He was first elected during a special election when incumbent William Timmons succeeded Trey Gowdy in representing South Carolina's 4th Congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives .[ 1] In 2023, Loftis announced he would retire and not seek reelection.[ 5] [ 6]
Political views
Loftis opposes gay marriage and strongly supports marriage as defined between a man and woman.[ 7] He voted to keep the Confederate Flag flying above the South Carolina Statehouse.[ 8] He is a strong supporter of "law and order ," the second amendment , and South Carolina's "heartbeat bill ," restricting abortion after six-weeks.[ 9]
Personal life
Loftis resides in Greenville, South Carolina with his wife Sandra. They have three children. Loftis first obtained an Associate degree from North Greenville University (then, North Greenville College) in 1966. He was an insurance agent, but has since retired.[ 10]
Loftis has been an active member of the Greenville community, particularly on issues of crime and education. He is a board member and past president of the Crime Stoppers of Greenville, and has held positions such as:
Past chairman of the North West Business Education Partnership School District of Greenville
Past member of the Leadership Council School District in Greenville County
Former Greenville County School Trustee
Electoral history
Year
Office
Type
Party
Main opponent
Party
Votes for Loftis
Result
Swing
Ref.
Total
%
P .
1996
S.C. Representative
Special
Republican
Johnnie S. Fulton
Democratic
1,423
51.35%
1st
N/A
Won
Hold
[ 11]
1996
General
Republican
Johnnie S. Fulton
Democratic
4,992
56.48%
1st
N/A
Won
Hold
[ 12]
1998
General
Republican
Write-in
N/A
6,224
97.69%
1st
+41.21%
Won
Hold
[ 13]
2000
General
Republican
Debbie Hill
Democratic
6,126
66.02%
1st
-31.67%
Won
Hold
[ 14]
2002
General
Republican
Write-in
N/A
6,441
97.80%
1st
+31.78%
Won
Hold
[ 15]
2004
General
Republican
Luanne M. Taylor
Democratic
7,746
72.14%
1st
-25.66%
Won
Hold
[ 16]
2006
General
Republican
Write-in
N/A
5,991
98.89%
1st
+26.75%
Won
Hold
[ 17]
2008
General
Republican
Write-in
N/A
9,205
98.58%
1st
-0.31%
Won
Hold
[ 18] [ 19]
2010
General
Republican
Write-in
N/A
6,467
98.60%
1st
+0.02%
Won
Hold
[ 20]
2012
General
Republican
Write-in
N/A
9,213
97.90%
1st
-0.70%
Won
Hold
[ 21]
2014
General
Republican
Write-in
N/A
6,492
98.62%
1st
+0.72%
Won
Hold
[ 22]
2016
General
Republican
Write-in
N/A
10,379
98.56%
1st
-0.06%
Won
Hold
[ 23]
2018
General
Republican
Carrie Counton
Democratic
6,744
61.16%
1st
-37.40%
Won
Hold
[ 24]
2019
S.C. Senate
Rep. primary
Republican
Amy Ryberg Doyle
Republican
3,528
55.41%
1st
N/A
Won
N/A
[ 25] [ 1]
Special
Republican
Tina Belge
Democratic
4,440
55.64%
1st
N/A
Won
Hold
[ 26]
2020
General
Republican
Hao Wu
Democratic
33,300
65.13%
1st
N/A
Won
Hold
[ 9] [ 27]
Awards and honors
Governor Henry McMaster presented the Order of the Palmetto to Loftis at the December 2, 2024, Greenville County Legislative Delegation meeting.[ 28]
References
^ a b c "SC State Senate 06 – Special Election" . Our Campaigns . Retrieved April 4, 2020 .
^ "SC State House 019 – Special Election" . Our Campaigns . Retrieved April 4, 2020 .
^ "SC State House 019" . Our Campaigns . Retrieved April 4, 2020 .
^ "Loftis, Dwight A." Our Campaigns . Retrieved December 8, 2024 .
^ Kenmore, Abraham; Adcox, Seanna (2024-04-02). "SC's GOP 'sister senators' among legislators facing primary opposition • SC Daily Gazette" . SC Daily Gazette . Retrieved 2024-04-21 .
^ Staff, FOX Carolina News (2023-12-30). "Greenville County councilman announces bid for Senate seat" . FOX Carolina . Retrieved 2024-04-21 .
^ "Issues" . Dwight Loftis for Senate . Archived from the original on February 19, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2019 .
^ Bowers, Paul (July 9, 2015). "Here are the 20 lawmakers who voted against removing the Confederate flag" . Charleston City Paper . Retrieved April 4, 2020 .
^ a b Davis, Angelia L. "2020 general election: Here's who is running for South Carolina Senate District 6" . The Greenville News . Retrieved 2024-04-21 .
^ "South Carolina Legislature Online - Member Biography" . www.scstatehouse.gov . Retrieved 2024-04-21 .
^ "SC State House 019 - Special Election" . Our Campaigns . January 23, 1996. Retrieved December 9, 2024 .
^ "South Carolina Election Report 1995-1996" . SC State Library . Columbia, SC: S.C. State Election Commission. May 1997.
^ "South Carolina Election Report (1997-1998)" (PDF) . South Carolina Election Commission . Retrieved 2024-07-02 .
^ "South Carolina Election Report 2000" (PDF) . SCVotes.gov . Columbia, SC: S.C. State Election Commission. 2001. Retrieved April 13, 2024 .
^ "South Carolina Election Report (2002)" (PDF) . South Carolina Election Commission . Retrieved 2024-07-02 .
^ "South Carolina 2004 Election Report" (PDF) . SCVotes.gov . State of South Carolina Election Commission. January 11, 2006. Retrieved April 13, 2024 .
^ "South Carolina Election Report (2006)" (PDF) . South Carolina Election Commission . Retrieved 2024-07-02 .
^ "South Carolina Election Commission Election Report 2008" (PDF) . SCVotes.org . S.C. State Election Commission. May 2009. Retrieved April 13, 2024 .
^ "South Carolina 2008 General Election: State House of Representatives District 19" . South Carolina Election Commission . 2009-06-01. Retrieved 2024-07-05 .
^ "South Carolina 2010 General Election: State House of Representatives District 19" . South Carolina Election Commission . 2010-11-18. Retrieved 2024-07-05 .
^ "South Carolina 2012 General Election: State House of Representatives District 19" . South Carolina Election Commission . 2013-04-09. Retrieved 2024-07-05 .
^ "South Carolina 2014 Statewide General Election: State House of Representatives, District 19" . South Carolina Election Commission . 2014-12-15. Retrieved 2024-07-05 .
^ "South Carolina 2016 Statewide General Election: State House of Representatives, District 19" . South Carolina Election Commission . 2023-02-01. Retrieved 2024-07-05 .
^ "South Carolina 2018 Statewide General Elections: State House of Representatives, District 19" . South Carolina Election Commission . 2020-03-03. Retrieved 2024-07-05 .
^ Brown, Kirk (January 22, 2019). "Loftis wins SC Senate District 6 Republican primary, according to unofficial vote total" . Greenville News. Retrieved April 4, 2020 .
^ "Loftis wins South Carolina state Senate primary" . AP News . 2019-01-25. Retrieved 2024-04-21 .
^ "South Carolina 2020 Statewide General Election: State Senate, District 6" . South Carolina Election Commission . 2021-06-30. Retrieved 2024-07-05 .
^ Moss, Savannah. "Longtime SC lawmaker receives state's highest civilian honor as new lawmakers take oath" . Independent Mail . Retrieved 2024-12-08 .
External links