Lee Turner running write-in campaign against Republican incumbent US Rep. Timmons

It turns out that incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. William Timmons will face someone in his re-election bid Nov. 8.

Lee Turner of Greenville told Spartanburg County Democrats Tuesday at the T.K. Gregg Community Center she is running a write-in campaign.

"First, Roe v. Wade came along," she said. "Secondly, Will Timmons has gotten himself in a world of trouble, and thirdly we had a Democratic candidate who decided to withdraw from the race.

"I couldn't just do nothing. I am running a write-in campaign. People say you can't win it, but I believe that we can."

The 4th congressional district covers most of Spartanburg and Greenville counties.

In 2018, Turner ran for the 4th District seat vacated by Trey Gowdy of Spartanburg. She lost to Brandon Brown in a Democratic primary runoff. Brown then lost to Timmons by a nearly 2-1 margin in the general election.

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She is currently employed as administrator at Perpetual Real Estate School of South Carolina in Greenville, and has been a tax preparer in Greenville, has run her own restaurant and interior design business, and previously worked for Turner Broadcasting in Georgia for six years, where she participated in syndicating CNN throughout the world. She also spent 13 years in a chief financial officer capacity in a granite monument business in Elberton, Georgia, where she managed healthcare.

Turner said she believes healthcare is a right and opposes attempts by the state's Republican legislature to ban abortion. She also believes college should be made more affordable.

"I'm going to keep a very narrow message," she said. "I want my message to appeal to everyone. It's going to be livable wage, healthcare for every American and educating our children for the jobs we're gonna create for tomorrow.

"Those jobs are going to be green jobs. They're going to be the Silicon Valley of the future. We're getting rid of this 'green' stuff being a bad word. We're going to be in a position to win before they even know we're there."

She told Spartanburg Democrats Tuesday that she plans to put up hundreds of yard signs in neighborhoods, on busy thoroughfares and at voting precincts in Greenville and Spartanburg counties.

Rep. William Timmons confident heading into November election

Timmons is seeking a third term in the U.S. House. He won his Republican primary and was set to face Democratic primary winner Ken Hill of Simpsonville, but Hill withdrew and will not appear on the ballot. Constitution Party candidate Michael Chandler was not certified to be on the Nov. 8 ballot, according to the State Election Commission.

Timmons said he's confident of winning again.

"She's (Turner) not on the ballot this November, but Joe Biden is," Timmons said. "Voters who are tired of radical liberal leadership causing spikes in inflation, gas prices and crime need to turn out to vote this November so Republicans can take back the majority and get our country back on track."

Timmons has recently faced allegations about his personal life in social media posts by Greenville developer Ron Rallis. The allegations were among topics discussed at a recent community forum after Rallis painted the former Bible Way Full Gospel Missionary Baptist Church in Greenville's Woodside community pink to call attention to his personal confrontations with law enforcement and Timmons.

Curt Smith, chairman of the Spartanburg County Republican Party, said he expects Timmons to win easily.

"It will be a blowout," Smith said. "He will win by an unbelievable margin. Republicans will turn out."

Kathryn Harvey, chairwoman of the Spartanburg County Democratic Party, said she couldn't comment on Turner's campaign because she is not officially on the ballot.

"My goal was to invite her into spaces where she could connect," Harvey said.

Contact Bob Montgomery at bob.montgomery@shj.com. Please support our coverage of Spartanburg County with a digital subscription.

This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: Democrat Lee Turner running write-in campaign against US Rep. Timmons