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Late last week, we welcomed newly-elected South Carolina senator Matt Leber to our studios for a wide-ranging – and at times contentious – conversation on his first session as a member of the S.C. Senate.
Leber vanquished incumbent “Republican” Sandy Senn in last spring’s GOP primary election by the narrowest of margins – winning by just 33 votes out of nearly 8,000 ballots cast. He proceeded to decisively defeat Democrat nominee Rita Adkins in the 2024 general election to earn his seat in the GOP-controlled Senate.
Since taking office, Leber has earned plaudits from this media outlet for his role in challenging left-of-center nominees submitted for cabinet consideration by status quo governor Henry McMaster. No other senator has been more aggressive than Leber in fighting against the nomination of Covid-19 authoritarian Edward Simmer as the Palmetto State’s next health czar, for example.
According to Leber, his frustration with Simmer stemmed from his refusal to condemn the mandatory vaccination of government employees during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic.
“My biggest problem with Simmer all along is that he didn’t speak up,” Leber told our founding editor, Will Folks. “He admitted in the hearings when I was questioning him that he thought it was inappropriate and unnecessary to fire these folks for not taking the shot, but he couldn’t be bothered as our expert on health in South Carolina to speak up and say, ‘look, maybe it’s not necessary to fire these folks.'”
“That was motivating for me,” Leber said.
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Just last week, we published a column from Leber responding to the left-leaning Charleston, S.C. Post and Courier – which had previously attacked senators for opposing Simmer’s nomination.
We also spoke with Leber regarding his ongoing efforts to hold elected officials across South Carolina accountable by requiring them to take the oath of office – something several Charleston County appointed officials have refused to do.
In addition to leading the fight on that issue locally, Leber told us he planned on introducing a proviso in the Senate version of the budget which would “require all boards and commissions throughout the state to take the oath at the next meeting or they lose their funding.”
According to Leber, two dozen of his colleagues have signaled their support for such a proviso.
“I think it’s an opportunity for real reform,” he said.
Leber and I did spar briefly over the issue of tort reform, in which he cast several votes in support of positions held by the Palmetto State’s über-liberal trial lawyer lobby. To his credit, he took some direct questions about financial contributions he has received from attorneys, law firms and their employees during that debate – and explained in detail his issues with the comprehensive lawsuit reform measure introduced earlier this year.
We enjoyed having Leber in our studios and appreciated his willingness to engage on all the issues… not just the easy or agreeable ones. Hopefully he will return – and continue to avail himself of our open microphone.
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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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