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by WILL FOLKS
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Danny Lee Ford II – son of legendary Clemson University head football coach Danny Ford – announced his candidacy for the office of South Carolina agriculture commissioner this week.
Ford, 40, made the announcement on Monday (February 23, 2026) at the Upstate Livestock Exchange in Williamston, S.C., calling himself “a lifelong advocate for the land and the people who depend on it.”
Ford is the owner and operator of a cattle farm in Central, S.C. He also runs a hemp farm in Travelers Rest.
“Farming isn’t something Danny talks about – it’s something he has lived,” his campaign website noted.
Ford is the fourth candidate to enter the Republican primary election for this seat, which has been held since 2004 by Hugh Weathers of Bowman, S.C. Weathers was initially appointed to the post by former governor Mark Sanford after the previous commissioner, Charles Sharpe, was indicted in connection with a cockfighting ring.
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Also running are Fred West of Batesburg-Leesville, Cody Simpson of Home Branch and Jeremy Cannon of Turbeville. West has received Weathers’ endorsement – and the backing of S.C. Senate majority leader Shane Massey and longtime S.C. Senate agriculture committee chairman Wes Climer. Simpson has been endorsed by governor Henry McMaster and U.S. president Donald Trump.
It’s unclear whether any Democrats will seek the office, with the party failing to nominate a candidate in each of the past three election cycles. The last Democrat to campaign for agriculture commissioner, Tom Elliott, received only 39.85% of the vote in 2010.
Ford’s name will certainly ring a bell for many voters – especially in the vote-rich Upstate region of the Palmetto State Ford’s father spent eleven seasons coaching Clemson University’s football program, leading the Tigers to five conference championships and its first-ever national title in 1981. Ford’s teams posted a 96-29-4 (.759) record, including a 56-16-1 (.774) mark against conference opponents and a 6-2 (.750) record in bowl games. Ford also won an SEC western division championship as head coach at Arkansas in 1995.
“I’ll back him 110% and hopefully he’ll get a chance to do a good job,” the elder Ford told The Anderson Observer, saying family-owned farms are struggling “like the devil” to survive in the current economic climate.
“We can’t live without them,” the elder Ford added. “We’ve got to have their food production—the cattle, the hogs, the sheep, the goats, the vegetables.”
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Danny Lee Ford II, son of legendary @ClemsonFB former head coach Danny Ford, is running for S.C. Commissioner of Agriculture. Ford announced his candidacy earlier today in Williamston, S.C. pic.twitter.com/f1edRcyila
— FITSNews (@fitsnews) February 23, 2026
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South Carolina is home to more than 22,000 farms and 4.6 million acres of farmland, per the latest data from the S.C. Department of Agriculture (SCDA). As of 2022, the industry’s annual economic impact totaled $51.8 billion – making it the largest sector of the Palmetto State’s economy. An estimated 260,000 jobs were “supported” by agriculture, which generates $12.3 billion in annual labor income within the state, again per the latest department data (.pdf).
Agriculture commissioners serve four-year terms and are elected (along with other statewide offices) during national mid-term elections. FITSNews has repeatedly editorialized in favor of making the office an appointed position.
“This post should be a cabinet agency under the governor’s office – with its occupant accountable to the Palmetto State’s chief executive,” we noted last summer.
Moving the office into the governor’s cabinet would require a constitutional amendment, however, which would mean two-thirds of both chambers of the S.C. General Assembly would have to approve putting a referendum before the people of the Palmetto State.
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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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