Copyright Charleston Post and Courier
GREENVILLE — Dianne Mitchell, a conservative activist who helped shepherd a 2022 gender sports bill in the Statehouse, has declared victory in the runoff race for the Upstate’s House District 21. Mitchell, of Greer, faced off against Steve Nail, labor attorney and dean of Anderson University’s business school, in a special election runoff Nov. 4. None of the four candidates in the Oct. 21 Republican primary captured more than 50 percent of the vote. Mitchell declared victory around 9:20 p.m., telling The Post and Courier that returns showed her ahead in a close race and she and her team were confident in the results. The state election commission reported totals around 10 p.m., showing Mitchell with 50.36 percent and 49.64 percent and 3,050 votes cast. Former state Rep. Bobby Cox — a lobbyist for firearms giant Sig Sauer and an architect of the state's permitless carry law — resigned from the seat to run for South Carolina Senate, although he ultimately withdrew before the October primary. House District 21 encompasses southern Greer, Taylors, Roper Mountain, Sugar Creek, Pelham Road and parts of Five Forks. There is no Democrat running in the Dec. 23 special election. Mitchell overcame staunch establishment opposition to claim the seat. The S.C. Growth and Freedom Alliance — a dark money group founded to oppose more hardline members of the Republican Caucus — put out advertising in the district against her, urging voters “don’t add more chaos to the South Carolina State House.” The PAC has launched similar efforts in other parts of the state. Speaking by phone, Mitchell said she and her team were celebrating and appreciated all the support. “I am very grateful to the District 21 voters who saw through all the dirty stuff that was going on,” Mitchell said. “I’m grateful for their belief in me — and my family who supported me, my friends who supported me.” Mitchell, who was born and raised in Greenville, is a former teacher. Now retired, she has led several Republican organizations and was president of the Greenville Republican Women's Club. Mitchell was a vocal voice in Columbia long before running for office. During the 2021-2022 legislative session, she spearheaded efforts to pass the “Save Women's Sports” bill, testifying in committee to support the bill's passage that requires transgender students to participate on sports teams that match their gender assigned at birth — not the one they identify with. She also opposed the record-breaking Scout Motors incentive package and an income tax reform package this spring proposed by Republicans that would’ve raised taxes for middle-and-low income earners by hundreds of dollars. This fall, Mitchell campaigned on that experience pushing for a conservative agenda in Columbia, pointing to her record of holding legislators accountable and educating them on issues. Mitchell was endorsed by conservative figures like Greenville County Sheriff Hobart Lewis; Freedom Caucus members like Rep. Jordan Pace and former Rep. Adam Morgan; and Greenville businessman and veteran John Warren, who ran for governor in 2018. Those Freedom Caucus endorsements were the target of the advertising in the district. “Dianne Mitchell is endorsed by a group that voted to defund the police, block tax cuts, and worked with & paid a convicted pedophile,” the ad read, referring to former Lexington Rep. RJ May, who pleaded guilty to child pornography charges in September. And in late October, Mitchell and Morgan both shared screenshots on social media of texts without a funding disclosure that they said came from a fake organization — an attempt to convince voters that she was backed by Democrats. Mitchell told The Post and Courier the messaging was frustrating. “It’s dirty politics,” she said. “Tell me what you’re for, don’t tell me what you’re against.”
