S.C. Rep. Thomas Beach, Incumbent, House Dist. 10
All candidates for the South Carolina House of Representatives seats serving Anderson County were given multiple opportunities to share their positions unedited with voters in The Anderson Observer. Here are the answers from S.C. Rep. Thomas Beach, incumbent, Dist. 10:
1. Were you in favor of the last-minute redistricting the state to create new voting districts? Explain your support or opposition. Absolutely yes. This issue was not last-minute. Legislation was filed earlier this year to tackle it. We did not need a Supreme Court decision to know that drawing district lines based on skin color is wrong. The Supreme Court found these types of districts to be unconstitutional, and it is our obligation to remake the congressional maps.
2. How can the General Assembly work together to meet the challenge of being the nation's fastest-growing state per capita? Our state government does not prioritize the people who live here. It is like setting a table for five people and sending an invitation to twenty. Lawmakers need to stop the failed crony capitalism deals and the wasteful spending and instead focus on what taxpayers expect their dollars to fund: bridges, roads, schools, the 8,000 students on waiting lists for the school choice program, law enforcement, and first responders. We have medically fragile children in the foster care system who are being ignored. These items are consistently underfunded and deprioritized. But the members of the legislature who consistently push to prioritize them are perpetually demonized and name-called “obstructionists” by the leadership in power.
3. Can the state keep up with infrastructure to meet this growth without raising taxes? Yes, but only if lawmakers prioritize the budget better. I personally identified $1 billion that could be redirected to improve infrastructure, including $400 million in absolute waste. Examples include funding for climate change research, fringe ideological art projects and galleries, and funding for the Greenville Gay Men's Chorus.
4. Should South Carolina do away with property taxes? Explain your conclusion. Absolutely yes. If you miss a payment and the government can seize your property, you were never truly an owner, you were just leasing it from the government. I still believe in an America that is the land of the free and home of the brave, but we have a lot of restoration to do to get back to that ideal, and property taxes is one such example.
5. What can/should state government do to find sufficient funding for road maintenance and repair for both state, county and municipal roads? The General Assembly currently has no plan to fix our roads, so my conservative colleagues and I developed one built on three goals: accountability, no new taxes, and actually fixing the roads. Our plan is contained in two bills. The first, H5262, reforms the Department of Transportation by eliminating layers of bureaucracy and commissions and replacing them with regional areas, each with its own independent budget, director, and responsibility for local roads. The second, H5263, focuses on road preservation and maintenance.
6. Is South Carolina's current abortion prohibition enough, too strict, or should it be amended to reject abortions even in the case of rape, incest, or threat to the life of the mother? The role of government was outlined in the Declaration of Independence: we are endowed with three enumerated unalienable rights, and it is my job to protect them. Abortion extinguishes all three rights from an innocent person and belongs in the trash bin of history.
7. What are the three biggest challenges facing your district and the state in the next five years? Infrastructure, law enforcement, and energy costs.
8. How do you view the balance between state government and local authority in both statute and funding? State government has too much power in some regards, and we must transfer much of that authority and funding back to county and city governments. It is far easier for a citizen to knock on the door of a neighbor who serves on a local board than to travel to the State Capitol and convince more than a hundred legislators to agree.
9. What areas need addressing that the General Assembly has not addressed or has put off addressing? Taxes and roads are at the top. Taxpayer money must be spent only on the core functions of government. The public fisc is currently used as a piggy bank to do favors for the politically connected and for political patronage—that must change. I believe in free markets and free people. When people keep more of their own money, they have more options and more freedom.
10. What is the top priority of an elected official? The answer is found in the Declaration of Independence. Lawmakers must return to our founding philosophy of what government's role truly is: to protect the unalienable Natural Rights that our Creator gave us. That standard is how we distinguish good law from bad law.
11. What are the keys to working together with other members of the General Assembly to find common ground and pass legislation? I don’t come to the table looking to surrender ground—I come to try to wrest back what government has already taken from you. That said, I work with any member who is willing to put taxpayers and citizens first. The question I ask before any vote is simple: does this make South Carolinians more free, or less? That standard cuts through the noise and tells you everything you need to know about whether a 'compromise' is worth making.
12. Do you or any of your family members have business dealings with any agency or organization that receives state funds? If so, please list. No.
13. Would you favor financial limits on financial contributions to campaigns? We currently have contribution limits in place and I have not heard significant complaints from either side. As long as people feel free to support the candidate of their choice, the current framework appears to be working.
14. How have you been involved in the community (include any charitable/nonprofit work, volunteer efforts, fire service, etc.) and why is this important to you? Before entering the legislature, I was a member of the Easley Rotary Club and the American Legion. When folks are allowed to keep more of the money they earn, charities benefit and more people get help on the local level where they need it. Every day I work to help constituents navigate issues with government. Being a representative means more than traveling to the Capitol to make laws—it means going to bat for people when they face challenges and need an advocate. Those efforts rarely receive attention, but it is an honor to serve.
15. Why are you running for election or reelection for this office? My catalyst was protecting my daughter and other young women who simply wanted to compete in sports fairly and safely. Once involved, I quickly learned that issue was only the tip of the iceberg. South Carolina is the highest-taxed state in the Southeast. We were spending taxpayer dollars on Planned Parenthood and on procedures that affected children as young as four years old. Our Second Amendment protections were weak, and our education system ranked in the bottom ten nationally. There is a great deal of work still to be done. I have been a consistent fighter for our families, our freedoms, and our pocketbooks, and I hold a 100% conservative rating from multiple organizations. I am here to serve.
16. What are your three favorite things about living and working in South Carolina and particularly your district?
First, the people. I have met wonderful individuals who, like me, simply want to raise a family and live free. Politics is like a squeaky wheel — you tolerate it until it gets loud enough that you have to act. That is how I got involved and why I stay involved. As a parent, I compete daily against cultural rot in our media and entertainment, but the people of this district are outstanding role models for my children. I want to help get government out of their pockets so they have extra money to make memories with their families. Second, our culture. I love that we are the buckle of the Bible Belt—it is why passing legislation to place the Ten Commandments in every classroom was so important to me. Third, our natural environment. I want to make sure that this remains a beautiful place to live. That’s one reason why I am so skeptical of overdevelopment and against these new data center projects being built in the Upstate. While much of that is dealt with at the county level rather than the legislative one, I will be watchful over these issues at the state level.
17. If elected/reelected, what legacy do you want to leave for your time in office? My mission is to educate and remind my fellow policymakers that there is a God, that our unalienable Natural Rights come from Him, and that our duty is to conserve those rights. I believe that if this principle becomes our North Star, we will see a healthier, happier, more beautiful society emerge. We are an exceptional and unique nation because of the philosophy of our Declaration of Independence, and South Carolina can be an exceptional state if we follow it as well.
