Firebrand Republican Lee Bright steps back from politics after 3 straight electoral losses (2024)

SPARTANBURG — If you’ve paid attention to South Carolina politics for long enough, you’re sure to know the name Lee Bright.

From 2008-16, Bright held theS.C. Senate District 12 seat that represents rural, deeply conservative areas of Spartanburg and Greenville counties.

During that time, he became known for his strong principles that led him to often butt heads with party leaders. He made a name for himself as a strong supporter of fiscal conservatism with his filibustering but also never feared to wade into controversial social issues.

He opposed lowering the Confederate flag, condemned same-sex relationships and advocated for a so-called "bathroom bill."

His tense relationship with then-Gov. Nikki Haley might have led to his downfall. He lost his 2016 reelection bid to hisHaley-backed opponent.

In 2018, he ran for the U.S. House but lost to its current holder, U.S. Rep. William Timmons.

Now, coming off his third straight electoral defeat — he lost an effort toreclaim his old seat in the Senate by fewer than 150 votes— Bright said he is stepping away from the “blood sport” of politics.

“You only want to beat your head against a brick wall so many times,” Bright said.

Down but not out

Bright said his wife does not want him running anymore. He said after his 2016 loss he had no intention of running again, but that didn’t hold. This time, he isn’t completely ruling out a return but said his wife would need a radical change of heart.

But the state isn’t done hearing from Bright. He formerly hosted a radio show and plans to use that experience to start a podcast so he can still “get the word out.”

Bright has plenty to say about his loss to S.C. Rep. Roger Nutt. He said Republican Senate leadership “focused on keeping conservatives out of the Senate.”

To this, Republican Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey said he doesn’t “really care what Lee says.”

The Senate District 12 Republican primary was one of the most expensive in the state this election cycle.

Bright raised more than $211,000 in his bid, while Nutt garnered around $145,000. That’s not counting the money raised by the two opponents who didn’t make it to the runoff or the Democratic candidate.

The S.C. Senate Republican Caucus donated $5,000 to Nutt’s campaign. The political action committee for the S.C. Chamber of Commerce also contributed $500, and numerous business-friendly groups, like the political action committee for OneSpartanburg, also aided Nutt’s bid.

Massey was quick to say the caucus’ preference for Nutt.

“The Senate Republican Caucus did support Roger Nutt,” Massey said. “There was a lot of outside money spent in that race, and a lot of it was for Lee.”

Bright outraised Nutt's campaign, and both candidates took in money from out-of-state groups.

Multiple out-of-state conservative political action committees contributed to Bright, such as the Making A Sensible Shift in Elections PAC from Kentucky. So did numerous individuals from Georgia, Louisiana, Texas and other states.

“It was (a) tremendous amount of money spent in those two weeks,” Bright said. “It's just hard to overcome.”

Massey said he didn’t know if Bright “needed any help to lose.” He applauded Nutt’s record and said all of the support to his campaign was “pro-Roger Nutt” and not “anti-Lee Bright.”

“Lee has intentionally created a polarizing reputation,” Massey said. “There are some people who really like that. I think the last several elections that he's been a part of show that there are more people who don’t.”

Bright said he likes Nutt but said Nutt won’t do anything that will upset anybody and that he will vote how leadership tells him to vote. Massey said Nutt is a “big boy” and said he doesn’t think anyone could tell him how to vote and that Massey does not do that with any lawmaker.

Nutt still has to win his general election in November but will likely win the deep red seat.

A low-turnout runoff

One thing Bright and Massey agreed on, as well as Chris Sullivan, a consultant to many of Bright’s campaigns, was that turnout was a problem.

Bright lost his runoff race to Nutt by a mere 143 votes after leading the initial four-way primary by around 1,500 votes. Statewide turnout dropped from around 13.6 percent of registered voters on June 11 to only 5.85 percent on June 25, similar to the turnout in Spartanburg and Greenville counties.

Bright said a lack of civic engagement from voters was widespread.

“It's just laziness,” Bright said. “It's not taking the time and effort to get involved and to pay attention to what's going on.”

Other aspects Bright highlighted in the autopsy of his campaign were slight redistricting and that South Carolina has an open primary system where voters can choose which party’s primary they want to vote in without registering with one particular party.

Sullivan and Bright both said that the state should implement closed primaries to prevent the possibility of Democrats voting in Republican races.

S.C. Rep. Jordan Pace, who recently became chairman of the hardline House Freedom Caucus, also advocated for closed primaries.

Massey said Bright lost not because of open primaries but because voters didn't turn out to support him.

"If you lost, you got to think of some reason why you lost," Massey said. "It's got to be somebody else's fault."

Regardless of the past, Sullivan and Pace said they think Bright will prioritize his family ahead of any future election. Pace said he hopes Bright can contribute even if he’s not in office.

“Hopefully, (Bright will) help us in the background and continue to be a source of wise counsel,” Pace said. “He may not run for anything else, but he's certainly still involved.”