John Courson
John E. Courson (b. November 21, 1944) is a former Republican member of the South Carolina State Senate, representing District 20. He was first elected to the chamber in 1985. Courson resigned on June 4, 2018, after pleading guilty to one count of official misconduct. Courson served as the President Pro Tempore in the Senate from 2012 to June 4, 2014.[1][2]
On March 17, 2017, a state grand jury indicted Courson on three charges of misconduct in office and using campaign donations for personal expenses.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; invalid names, e.g. too many Courson was suspended from the state Senate as a result of the indictment.[3] On October 18, 2017, Courson was indicted on charges of criminal conspiracy and statutory misconduct in office.[4] On June 4, 2018, Courson resigned from office and pleaded guilty to one count of official misconduct.[2] Click here to read more.
Biography
Courson graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1968. He worked as the Executive Vice President for Keenan Insurance and Financial Services, Incorporated. He then worked as the Senior Vice President of Keenan & Suggs Insurance Agency.
Courson served in the United States Marine Corps Reserve.
Committee assignments
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| South Carolina committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Banking and Insurance |
| • Education, Chair |
| • Ethics |
| • Finance |
| • Medical Affairs |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Courson served on the following committees:
| South Carolina committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Banking and Insurance |
| • Education, Chair |
| • Ethics |
| • Finance |
| • Medical Affairs |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Courson served on the following committees:
| South Carolina committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Banking and Insurance |
| • Education, Chair |
| • Ethics |
| • Finance |
| • Medical Affairs |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Courson served on the following committees:
| South Carolina committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Banking and Insurance |
| • Education |
| • Ethics |
| • Finance |
| • Medical Affairs |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Courson served on the following committees:
| South Carolina committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Banking and Insurance |
| • Education |
| • Ethics |
| • Finance |
| • Medical Affairs |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2016
Elections for the South Carolina State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election took place on June 14, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The primary runoff election was held on June 28, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was March 30, 2016.
Incumbent John Courson defeated Scott West in the South Carolina State Senate District 20 general election.[5][6]
| South Carolina State Senate, District 20 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  John Courson Incumbent |
74.86% | 30,267 | |
| Green | Scott West | 25.14% | 10,166 | |
| Total Votes | 40,433 | |||
| Source: South Carolina State Election Commission | ||||
Tom Reddick ran unopposed in the South Carolina State Senate District 20 Democratic primary.[7][8]
| South Carolina State Senate, District 20 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Tom Reddick (unopposed) | |
Incumbent John Courson ran unopposed in the South Carolina State Senate District 20 Republican primary.[9][10]
| South Carolina State Senate, District 20 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | John Courson Incumbent (unopposed) | |
Scott West ran unopposed in the South Carolina State Senate District 20 Green primary.[11][12]
| South Carolina State Senate, District 20 Green Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Green | Scott West (unopposed) | |
2012
Courson won election in the 2012 election for South Carolina State Senate District 20. Courson ran unopposed in the June 12 Republican primary and defeated Robert Rikard (D) and Scott West (G) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[13][14][15]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Courson Incumbent |
59.1% | 25,363 | |
| Democratic | Robert Rikard | 38.1% | 16,359 | |
| Green | Scott West | 2.7% | 1,158 | |
| Other | Write-Ins | 0.1% | 43 | |
| Total Votes | 42,923 | |||
2008
Courson won re-election for District 20 of the South Carolina State Senate with 33,565 votes, ahead of write-ins (977).[16]
Courson raised $160,039 for his campaign.[17]
| South Carolina State Senate, District 20 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| John Courson (R)
|
33,565 | |||
| Write-ins | 977 | |||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Endorsements
Presidential preference
2012
John Courson endorsed Jon Huntsman in the 2012 presidential election.[18]
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of South Carolina scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2018
In 2018, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 9 through May 10.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental and conservation issues.
- Legislators are scored on business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the organization.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 10 through May 11.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 12 through June 2.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 13 through June 4.
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 14 through June 6.
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 8 to June 20.
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2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
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In 2012, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 11 through June 7.
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2011
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2011, click [show]. |
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In 2011, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 11 through June 2. On June 2, 2011, Governor Nikki Haley (R) attempted to call the legislature into an "emergency" special session to begin on June 7 to create the new South Carolina Department of Administration. A lawsuit was filed by Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell (R), in which he contended that Haley's call for a special session was unconstitutional, and that it violated the state Constitution's requirement of separation of powers among the governor, legislature and courts.[19] On June 6, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled 3-2 against Governor Haley, stating that her order violated the Legislature's ability to set its calendar and agenda. The legislature met in a special redistricting session from June 14 - July 1.[20] The legislature re-convened July 26.[21]
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The Palmetto Liberty PAC Scorecard
The Palmetto Liberty Political Action Committee, a conservative, pro-limited government think tank in South Carolina, releases its scorecard for South Carolina representatives and senators once a year. The scorecard gives each legislator a score based on how he or she voted in the two-year legislative term prior to the election on specific issues that the Palametto Liberty PAC thinks are anti-limited government. "Most of the votes shown on the score card are votes that we lost. Now we can identify the Legislators that caused us to lose these votes. These Legislators are the ones who need to be replaced if we are to achieve the vision of having the most free state in the nation."[22]
2012
John E. Courson received a score of 29% in the 2012 score card, ranking 14th out of all 46 South Carolina Senate members.[23] His score was followed by Senators Chauncey K. Gregory (29%), Raymond Cleary (24%), and Ronnie W. Cromer (24%).[24]
Noteworthy events
Resignation following guilty plea (2018)
On June 4, 2018, Courson resigned from office, pleaded guilty to one count of official misconduct, and agreed to cooperate with an investigation into misuse of campaign donations.[2]
On March 17, 2017, a state grand jury indicted Courson on three charges of misconduct in office and using campaign donations for personal expenses.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; invalid names, e.g. too many Courson was suspended from the state Senate as a result of the indictment.[3] On October 18, 2017, Courson was indicted on charges of criminal conspiracy and statutory misconduct in office.[4]
The indictment accused Courson of paying political consultant Richard Quinn's firm several political consulting payments while Quinn's firm was also writing Courson checks for less than $10,000. Courson allegedly cashed the checks at a Bank of America branch. The indictment said Courson paid the Quinn firm a total of $247,829 between 2006 and 2012 and the firm paid Courson $132,802 in multiple transactions. Special prosecutor David Pascoe argued that Courson acted illegally by receiving the checks in amounts of less than $10,000. In this way, Pascoe argued, Courson avoided a law that requires banks to report transactions of $10,000 or more to federal authorities.[2]
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
When he served in the state Senate, Courson and his wife, Elizabeth, had three children. Courson was state chair/state co-chair/treasurer for United States Senator Strom Thurmond. He was also a volunteer for the Reagan and Bush Campaigns.
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "John + Courson + South + Carolina + Senate"
See also
- An analysis of South Carolina's lieutenant governorship, 2014
- South Carolina State Legislature
- South Carolina State Senate
- South Carolina State Senate Committees
- South Carolina Joint Committees
- South Carolina state legislative districts
External links
- Profile from Open States
- Profile from Project Vote Smart
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign Contributions: 2012, 2010, 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002, 2000, 1998, 1996
Footnotes
- ↑ The Sumter Item, "Courson resigns his position as SC Senate leader," June 4, 2014 (dead link)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 The State, "Longtime Richland Sen. Courson resigns, enters guilty plea in corruption probe," June 4, 2018
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 fitsnews.com, "John Courson Suspended," March 17, 2017
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The State, "Powerful SC GOP consultant Richard Quinn, 4 others indicted," October 18, 2017
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "Candidate listing for the 11/8/2016 statewide general election," accessed August 26, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "2016 Statewide General Election," accessed November 28, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "Candidate Tracking," accessed March 31, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "Unofficial primary election results," accessed June 14, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "Candidate Tracking," accessed March 31, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "Unofficial primary election results," accessed June 14, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "Candidate Tracking," accessed March 31, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "Unofficial primary election results," accessed June 14, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, “2012 General Election – Official Results,” November 19, 2012
- ↑ AP.org, "South Carolina State Senate and State House Election Results," accessed November 7, 2012
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "2012 Candidates," accessed April 26, 2012
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "Official election results for 2008," accessed May 15, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money, "2008 campaign contributions," accessed May 15, 2014
- ↑ The Daily Caller, "Jon Huntsman scores key endorsement in South Carolina," June 30, 2011
- ↑ The State, "High court rules against Haley," June 6, 2011
- ↑ The Sun News, "S.C. House to have special session in June," May 6, 2011
- ↑ The Island Packet, "S.C. Senate OKs new congressional districted anchored in Beaufort County," June 29, 2011
- ↑ The Palmetto Liberty Political Action Committee, "Voting Records," accessed April 11, 2014
- ↑ Palmetto Liberty Political Action Committee, "South Carolina Senate Score Card 2012," accessed May 15, 2014
- ↑ Palmetto Liberty Political Action Committee, "South Carolina Senate Score Card 2012," accessed May 15, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by ' |
South Carolina State Senate - District 20 1985–2018 |
Succeeded by Dick Harpootlian (D) |
