2026 SC House District 30 Election

*CANDIDATES' VIEWS IN THE Q&AS LINKED BELOW DO NOT REFLECT THE VIEWS OF ONESPARTANBURG, INC. CANDIDATE RESPONSES ARE THE CANDIDATES' OWN WORDS, HAVING COME FROM EMAILED RESPONSES.*

REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE

BRIAN LAWSON (i)

*Not on ballots until November's General Election

Website: www.lawsonforschouse30.com

The Office You're Seeking: SC House District 30

Tell us about yourself, your involvement in our community, and why you are running for the SC House.

I was born and raised in Spartanburg, SC and graduated from Paul M. Dorman High School. For the last twenty years, I have resided in the Chesnee area of Cherokee County. My wife Karen and I will be celebrating our twenty second wedding anniversary later this year. We have a daughter and a son. I am a member of Arrowwood Baptist Church in Chesnee, where I serve as a Deacon and previously served as one of the RA leaders. I was employed as the Director of Operations at American TransMed, Inc. for nineteen years where I oversaw approximately one-hundred-fifty employees who worked out of five locations throughout South Carolina and North Carolina. I am currently the Controller for Shiflett Holdings, Inc. I also served as the Vice President of the board for Chesnee Community Youth Athletic Association, where I have coached baseball, softball, football, and basketball for the past several years. I have spent most of my adult life serving others. I served as a volunteer firefighter for over fourteen years, in several positions including Assistant Chief of two different departments. I also worked as a career firefighter for a couple of years, obtaining the rank of Captain. I served for two years as a Reserve Police Officer and have been a National Registered Paramedic for approximately twenty-four years. I previously served several years on the board of Cherokee County First Steps in various roles, including Vice Chairman. I served as President of the South Carolina Ambulance Provider's Association, where I oversaw the merger of that association in with the South Carolina Emergency Medical Services Association. I then served on their board for four years, representing the private ambulance providers in South Carolina. I have represented SC House District 30 in the South Carolina House of Representatives for the past four years and If you choose to re-elect me to represent you in Columbia, I will continue working closely with Senator Peeler and Representative Moss, along with other Representatives and Senators, whom I have formed good working relationships with, to tackle the issues that are important to all the people of South Carolina House District 30, and to the people of the counties I serve.

What is the role of state government, if any, in economic development and corporate recruitment? How can the State help raise per-capita income in Spartanburg and across the state?*

The role of state government in economic development and corporate recruitment is to help the counties, cities and towns offer a great cooperate climate to locate in. That includes lower income taxes, proper infrastructure and creating a workforce that trained and ready to work.

Comprehensive Tax Reform remains a high priority in the SC General Assembly. Income, property, and sales tax are all being discussed for reform. As a State Representative what would be your approach to good tax policy for the State?

The SC General Assembly recently passed a comprehensive income tax plan that puts our income tax as one of the lowest among our neighboring states and includes a plan that has a path to zero income tax. This plan does not raise another tax to supplement the income tax and over the past five years, the income tax rate in SC has dropped from 7% to the current 5.21%. The House and Senate announced at the income tax bill signing, that it plans to form a study group to work on reforming the property tax in SC. Property tax is a local tax so it is more of a challenge for the state to address, however we must continue to seek ways to lower and eliminate property tax. I believe that property tax is the most unfair tax we pay.

Childcare across South Carolina is often unaffordable and inaccessible, damaging our state’s economy and outcomes for our children. Data shows that a lack of childcare options prohibits some people from participating in the workforce. In South Carolina, the state’s prime-age labor force participation rate of 81.1% falls 2.5% points below the national average. As a state representative, what are some solutions you have for this crisis?

I am in favor for seeking ways to make childcare more affordable and more accessible. This could be achieved many ways. One would to be to encourage our large employers to offer these services for it's workers. Also programs such as SC First Steps have worked well in creating more 4K programs as well as working with child care centers for things such as training. We must find ways to allow abled workers to have the ability to work, which includes having affordable childcare. Currently the high cost of childcare is a barrier for many families.

What are the greatest challenges facing your District and what will you do as the Representative to address them?

Infrastructure and Growth. I have been able to participate in the discussions about the growth our District is facing. We have to make sure we have balanced growth so that the infrastructure is in place to handle the growth. We also have to have a balance with preserving some of our land (especially farm land) and developing some of our land. The condition of our roads continues to be an issue and I look forward to continue looking for ways to make them better. Also the current cost of living is too high. We must continue to look for way to make it more affordable.

Please identify any other issues or concerns that influenced your decision to run for this office.

We have many issues facing our state. I feel like we have done many great things in my four years representing SC House District 30, however there is much more work to do.

DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE

STEPHANIE HOLSTEIN