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South Carolina healthcare entrepreneur Johnnie Garmon has announced his candidacy for the S.C. House of Representatives in 2026. Garmon is running for S.C. House District 115 (.pdf), a coastal swing seat situated south of Charleston currently held by Democrat Spencer Wetmore.
Garmon, a Republican, issued a press release (.pdf) informing the public of his intention to run and touting his record as a businessman.
“Over two decades, he founded and successfully exited six private businesses, transforming healthcare in South Carolina by serving thousands of patients and families while employing hundreds,” the release reads.
FITSNews had the opportunity to speak with Garmon to get to know him and discuss his impending candidacy.
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“I found my calling in the healthcare space where I started off as a hospice care provider working for an agency in Anderson, South Carolina back in 2010,” Garmon said. “Like a lot of companies that grow and who do really well – which we did – they got sold, and when they got sold, they didn’t need my position anymore. So I got fired, and it was the best thing that happened to me.”
Garmon said he looks back fondly on losing his job because “it really allowed me to find my calling – to go out here and try to over-serve the underserved population of our seniors.”
“So last 12 years, I spent my life building a company, one company that turned into five different companies and one nonprofit,” he said.
Garmon’s companies specialize in providing home healthcare to dying individuals – and those in need of palliative care.
“What we found is that people age better when they’re at home, and they focus more on wellness and getting better when they’re at home,” Garmon said, adding that watching his grandparents struggle with a healthcare system that didn’t provide these types of services is what inspired him to enter the healthcare field.
He entered the world of government when he was appointed by governor Henry McMaster to the South Carolina Palliative Care Committee in 2019.
“I just continued to see where regulations really inhibited wellness,” he said.
Garmon enjoyed his time on the committee, but said he was frustrated when members of the General Assembly failed to act on its recommendations.
“I ended up talking to Senator Hutto out of Orangeburg a year or so after that, because he was on the committee with me, and he’s like, ‘Yeah, Johnny, we just, we never got it off the ground,'” Garmon recounted.
“So I have a big why – I want to try to go and fix some of those things that I know can be done throughout the state,” he said. “I continue to see missed opportunities, and this is finally when I have the time, the fire in the belly and the wisdom to enact some real change in Columbia.”
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If Garmon were to successfully secure the Republican nomination, he will have to win over a general electorate that favored Wetmore over Republican Jerome Sloane by a narrow 3.8% vote margin in the 2024 election. FITSNews asked Garmon if he was willing to put in the leg-work to reach enough voters to flip the seat.
“When I started my company, I went to where no one else would go and I put in the work,” he said. “Nothing is given to you, so yes, I’m willing to go knock on the doors. I’m willing to rally supporters around this cause who believe in what we believe and get them excited and motivated. That’s what we did before. We’ll do it again this time.”
Garmon acknowledged the importance of voter contact in highly competitive Lowcountry races, citing businessman James Teeple, who won his highly competitive Lowcountry house district last election cycle after a grueling campaign.
“James Teeple knocked on 6,000 doors in district 116 and he won by less than 600 votes – It absolutely will come down to that.”
“There is talk here locally, and I don’t know how much is true, that she may not want to run again,” Garmon said in reference to Wetmore, “I’m hearing that from different people, but regardless, we need representation, and I feel like I’m the right voice at the right time.”
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“Everybody tells me she’s a great person,” Garmon said. “The problem is she’s a liberal Democrat who has been there for five years, and she really has nothing to show for it. Some of that’s not even really her fault as a liberal Democrat. I mean, she’s in the superminority, she can’t pass any legislation – which like I said, is actually good, because her views are out of the mainstream in South Carolina. But because of this district 115 doesn’t have a voice, I don’t feel like we have representation.”
“We need someone who can actually get things through committee and and really represent the district,” Garmon reiterated.
Wetmore told FITSNews she hadn’t decided whether to run again, but emphasized that Garmon wouldn’t factor into her decision.
“Legislative service is my absolute honor, but deciding to run for re-election is a difficult decision every time. I always have to consider if I can balance my family and my job with the needs of my constituents. So far, I’ve run again every time, but I haven’t made the final decision yet for next term. I’ve always had an opponent, and my decision never has anything to do with election opposition.”
Count on FITSNews to keep you updated as the battle-lines are drawn ahead of the 2026 midterm election.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
(Via: Travis Bell)
Dylan Nolan is the director of special projects at FITSNews. He graduated from the Darla Moore school of business in 2021 with an accounting degree. Got a tip or story idea for Dylan? Email him here. You can also engage him socially @DNolan2000.
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