S.C. Senator Wes Climer to Announce Resignation Ahead of Congressional Race

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by WILL FOLKS

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Most elected officials who resign from office do so to stave off scandal – usually scandals involving the theft, waste or abuse of taxpayer dollars. In the case of South Carolina senator Wes Climer, though, he’s planning to submit his resignation in the hopes of saving taxpayers money.

Curiosity at the S.C. State House was piqued heading into this weekend when the State Senate rushed a resolution through the chamber related to the impending resignation of one of its members.

This bill – S. 880 – holds that “if a member of the General Assembly submits an irrevocable resignation… on or before March 1, 2026, then the election to fill the vacancy shall be conducted concurrently with the candidacy filing and election schedule applicable to the 2026 election for members of the House of Representatives.”

That would align any election to fill a vacant S.C. Senate seat with the regularly scheduled partisan primary elections in the Palmetto State, sparing taxpayers the expense of a standalone special election.

The measure cleared the Senate in lightning speed and is currently before the S.C. House.

But what prompted it? Which senator’s resignation was the impetus for the resolution?

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While initial speculation swirled around three Republican senators embroiled in various stages of scandal – and one reportedly facing health issues – it turned out the senator the resolution had in mind was Climer.

As of this writing, Climer is the runaway favorite to become the next U.S. congressman for South Carolina’s fifth district – a seat being vacated by Ralph Norman, a candidate for governor. With no credible opponent having come out against him, Climer is hoping to time his resignation from the Senate in such a way as to save taxpayers money – and prevent his constituents from going without representation for an extended period of time.

“It’s always bothered me that when someone in elected office runs for another office and wins, their parting gift to their constituents is often a special election that leaves taxpayers on the hook for an expensive special election and unrepresented for a period of time,” Climer said. “This has weighed on me since I announced I am running for Congress. I might not win, but what if I do?”

Climer said he was grateful to the people of York County for allowing him to represent them over the prior decade and “the last thing I want to do is cost them hard-earned money and leave them without representation for any period of time.”

According to Climer, a special election to fill his seat would cost somewhere between $75,000 and $90,000 for each round of the race (i.e. the partisan primary election, likely runoff election and general election) – bringing the total cost to somewhere between $150,000 and $270,000.

“Taxpayers shouldn’t have to shoulder that burden,” Climer said.

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As a result, Climer said he worked with Senate leaders on the aforementioned resolution – which would not only save taxpayers money but enhance voter participation.

“This should be permanent law – it would save taxpayers millions of dollars and greatly increase voter participation – but the process of changing permanent law would take longer than is feasible for this upcoming election,” Climer said.

“This is America,” Climer added. “Nobody is entitled to anything in politics or public service. Every single vote has to be earned. I’m working hard to earn the trust and confidence of the people of the fifth congressional district and fully appreciate that they have a range of choices. I think my principled conservatism stands pretty good odds and I’m deeply grateful for the outpouring of support I’ve received so far, but I might not be the one they ultimately choose to represent them in Congress.”

“Nevertheless, resigning under the terms of this resolution is the only path I could find that would satisfy my responsibility to act in my constituents’ best interest, regardless of how the Congressional election goes or how it might affect me personally,” Climer concluded.

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Climer, 43, of Rock Hill, S.C., is no stranger to taking principled stands. Last June, he filed a lawsuit to block South Carolina’s so-called “Republican” supermajority from doling out unconstitutional $25,500 pay raises to each of its members ($4.2 million worth of unconstitutional spending, all told). Climer took tremendous heat for challenging his colleagues – but the state supreme court agreed with him and unanimously struck down the pay raises.

FITSNews has praised Climer throughout his time in Columbia, S.C. for having “consistently aligned himself with the fiscal conservative wing of the party,” as well as being one of the most steadfast spending transparency advocates at the State House.

It’s nice to see that commitment continue all the way through to his impending resignation…

The race to replace Climer will no doubt draw numerous candidates, although local sources tell FITSNews school board leader James Burns and state representative Heath Sessions are among the early frontrunners.

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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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