After bruising primary, GOP congressman has less cash than his Democratic foe

U.S. Rep. William Timmons, a Republican from South Carolina, speaks at a House Financial Services Committee hearing on oversight of the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve coronavirus pandemic response on Capitol Hill on Sept. 30, 2021, in Washington, D.C. (File/Al Drago-Pool/Getty Images)

After spending millions to defeat his GOP challenger, an Upstate congressman ended June with less cash in his campaign account than his Democratic opponent.

U.S. Rep. William Timmons is facing Democrat Kathryn Harvey in November as he seeks a fourth term representing South Carolina’s conservative 4th District. The state’s most compact district spans most of Greenville and Spartanburg counties.

As of the most recent federal ethics filing, the Timmons campaign had $66,368 available to spend, while the Harvey campaign had $98,538.

Harvey’s campaign says that shows she “poses a formidable challenge” to the GOP incumbent in a fast-growing district that may no longer be as ruby red as people think.

Timmons easily raised more money than Harvey, bringing in just under $220,000 to Harvey’s roughly $60,000 in the few weeks covered by the ethics report from May 23 to June 30.

Harvey also did not have a primary, while Timmons was in a bruising contest against state House Rep. Adam Morgan, exiting chairman of the chamber’s uber-conservative Freedom Caucus. Timmons ultimately defeated Morgan with 51.6% of the vote, by just over 3 percentage points.

But he spent $2.7 million to do it, according to campaign finance disclosures.

And he had the backing of former President Donald Trump and Gov. Henry McMaster.

Harvey, who does communication work for nonprofits and chairs the Spartanburg County Democratic Party, has raised over $176,000 total for the contest.

That’s already more money than any Democrat has raised in a bid for the seat in more than 30 years (by raw numbers, not adjusted for inflation).

“This people-powered campaign has generated more enthusiasm than any Democrat in the district’s recent history, and I’m incredibly grateful to every single donor who has supported our grassroots movement in SC-04,” Harvey said in a statement.

Timmons was first elected to the 4th District seat in 2018. He faced a primary two years ago, when he won with 53% of the vote against three GOP challengers. But ran unopposed in November, after the Democrat withdrew several months before the election.

The district is rated solidly Republican by the Cook Political report, a non-partisan political analysis publication.

In 2020, the last time Timmons faced a Democratic opponent, he won by nearly 25 percentage points.

SC women in Congress

The 4th District hasn’t been represented by a Democrat since 1992, when three-term incumbent Elizabeth “Liz” Patterson was ousted by Republican Bob Inglis.

Patterson — the daughter of Olin Johnston, a former South Carolina legislator, governor and U.S. senator — was the first women elected to Congress from South Carolina for a full term and remained the only one until Nancy Mace was elected to the coastal 1st District in 2020. (Before Patterson, four South Carolina women fulfilled what was left of their late husband’s term.)

Next year could mark the first time in state history that South Carolina will have more than one woman in Congress.

In the Upstate’s conservative 3rd District, nurse practitioner Sherri Biggs won a seven-way GOP primary to take on Democrat Bryon Best in November.

Biggs had just under $41,000 left in her account following the June primary and runoff contests, according to her latest filing. But that’s apparently still more than Best, who has yet to file anything.

Mace had the most on hand June 30 of any congressional candidate in a primary, at $740,000. In November, she faces Democrat Michael Moore, who ended June with less than $120,000 in the bank.

“President Trump and the entire GOP ticket will dominate the Upstate in November,” Luke Byars, a senior advisor to the Timmons campaign, in a statement. “Kathryn Harvey will be running with ‘Border Czar’ Kamala Harris and that’s politically devastating here.”

The statement did not mention fundraising or cash on hand for the Timmons campaign.

4th District spending

The June 11 primary race was relatively close for Timmons in the vote count, though not by dollars spent. He won with 2,264 more votes than Morgan out of 70,802 cast.

As of the end of June, the Timmons campaign had spent about $2.7 million this election cycle. Morgan’s campaign raised about $644,000 and, like Timmons, spent nearly all of it by the end of the quarter.

The primary race also turned nasty.

Morgan called Timmons an “empty seat” and campaigned with U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, who endorsed Morgan over his Republican House colleague. Timmons repeatedly called Morgan a liar and accused him of not supporting President Donald Trump.

Constitution party candidate Mark Hackett also on the ballot in November.

Timmons represented Greenville in the state Senate for two years (a half-term) before winning a seat in Congress. He replaced Trey Gowdy, who opted not to seek re-election after four terms.

A former prosecutor, Timmons is a military lawyer and captain in the South Carolina Air National Guard.

In 2022, Timmons was accused of having an affair, which he denied at the time. Later that year, his wife filed for separation, saying in a public statement that they were divorcing with “love and mutual respect.”

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