Sen. Johnson, Winn face off in NAACP forum

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Sen. Kevin Johnson, D-Manning, and Republican challenger the Rev. Leon Winn faced off last week in a candidate forum hosted by the NAACP in Sumter, half of which is included in Senate District 36.

Manning native Johnson is hopeful that voters will give him his second Senate term come Nov. 8. The race is one of three being contested on the ballots that day, with Clarendon County Councilman A.C. English facing Republican opposition in District 2; and no less than six candidates running for three seats on the Clarendon School District 1 Board of Trustees.

"One thing that's been really important is getting out there and making sure people have information," Johnson said. "I've spent a lot of this campaign getting out there and doing just that. I've been meeting with constituents and also talking to folks through my newsletter that I send out monthly when the session is in."

Johnson serves most of Clarendon County, a significant portion of Sumter County and parts of Florence and Darlington counties.

"I'm retired from the Department of Revenue," he said. "I don't hunt, I don't fish, I serve the people. If I'm not in Columbia, I'm in my district working for you."

In his four years in the Senate, Johnson has served on six committees, the General, Invitations, Judiciary, Labor, Commerce and Industry, Medical Affairs and Transportation committees.

"These committee assignments are important with everything we have going on in South Carolina," Johnson said.

Last week at the NAACP forum, Johnson laid out his experience, including his decade as Manning mayor and his time as a representative for House District 64.

"If you talk to my 45 colleagues, you will find that I have their respect, whether it's Republican or Democrat, black or white, male or female," Johnson said. "I'm proud of that."

Johnson said, if re-elected, he is in line to be on the Finance Committee.

"I'm the next in line for the Finance Committee," he said. "I will also be at least 31 out of 46 in seniority, which is important for our area. I may even get into the 20s, depending on what happens. That seniority means a lot to everything we do."

This is Winn's third time running for elected office. He ran in 2012 for the District 36 Senate seat, the only Republican of five candidates in a race that saw most of the field eliminated at the starting line after filing procedures tripped them up. Ultimately, several candidates petitioned as write-in candidates. Johnson still received about 60 percent of the overall vote.

Winn ran in 2014 as a Republican in an unsuccessful attempt to unseat 6th District Congressman James Clyburn of Sumter.

"I'm a black, born-again Baptist preacher and a child of God, first," said Winn in his opening remarks last week. "'I care,' is my motto. If you elect me to office, I will do my very best to bring common sense to common problems. I will work toward a safe community, a consolidated school board, livable wages and getting these roads fixed."

Winn said his vast working experience gives him an edge on any candidate running for public office.

"I have been a police officer, a deputy sheriff, have run my own business as a licensed cosmetologist and I've been a pastor for 34 years," he said.

Currently the pastor of Rock Hill Missionary Baptist Church, Winn serves as the second vice-chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party.

He has always pointed out what he has called "the elephant in the room."

"Yes, I am a black Republican," he said. "When I began getting more into politics several years ago, I realized that the values of the Republican Party more aligned with my values than those of the Democrat Party."

Winn has presented his steadfast opposition to both abortion and same-sex marriage as reasons for supporting the Republican Party.

"I believe in common sense for common problems," he said. "I believe we need to bring the values of our fathers and grandfathers back into our homes and schools."

This election cycle, Winn has advocated for a consolidated school board in Clarendon County, which has always been a hot-button issue here. During the 2012 race, Winn said Clarendon districts should watch how Sumter deals with consolidation, and then go from there.

"What's best for our students is getting money back to them," he said. "We are in a deficit in our schools. You have three major districts in Clarendon County, and they are struggling. I'd say we should look into it."

Winn said community leaders like those serving in the Senate should work to attract businesses that will serve as subsidiaries to large industries like Continental Tire.

"We need to be searching and researching for those subsidiaries," he said.

Johnson agreed.

"It's about ensuring that the education is in place," Johnson said. "We need to be making sure that we have the workforce in place for these jobs. The jobs are there, we just need to attract them to Clarendon County. We do that by having the best workforce and that starts with education."

Johnson said his time in the Senate had given him more experience than his opponent, particularly when added to his brief time in the House and his long career in public service as Manning mayor and a Clarendon School District 2 board member.

"I started in this when I was 25," said Johnson. "I've had 30 years of public service, and I want to continue that service."

Manninglive.com will have Johnson and Winn's answers to various forum questions throughout the rest of the week and weekend.