Danny Verdin Explained

Daniel B. Verdin III
State Senate:South Carolina
State:South Carolina
District:9th
Term Start:2001
Preceded:James Edward Bryan, Jr.
Succeeded:Incumbent
Birth Date:9 May 1964
Birth Place:England Air Force Base in Alexandria, Louisiana
Profession:Business owner, politician
Party:Republican
Education:Bob Jones University (BA, 1986)
Children:4

Daniel Byron "Danny" Verdin III (born May 9, 1964) is a member of the South Carolina Senate, representing District 9 (Greenville, Laurens, and Union Counties). In November 2008, he was chosen as majority whip.[1]

Personal Life & Early Career

Verdin is the son of Dr. Daniel B. and Eloise Watts Verdin. He was born in Louisiana but raised in Greenville County, where his father was a veterinarian. In 1986, Verdin graduated with a bachelor's degree in history from Bob Jones University. In 1987, Verdin married Kimberlee Owens; they have four children.

Verdin served as Agriculture and Natural Resources Advisor to Governor Carroll Campbell, 1987–89. He is the owner of Verdin's Farm & Garden Center in Laurens, South Carolina. Verdin is a member of Faith Free Presbyterian Church in Greenville, and he has served as South Carolina Division Commander of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, 1998–2000.[2]

S.C. Senate

In 2000, Verdin ran for the District 9 South Carolina Senate seat as a conservative Republican and defeated a 16-year Democratic incumbent, Jim Bryan, in an upset election. Verdin's election shifted the balance of power in the South Carolina Senate by creating a 23–23 tie between Republicans and Democrats.

Anticipating that the Senate rules would be re-written to favor Republicans and that Republican Senate President (and Lieutenant Governor) Bob Peeler would break the tie in the Republicans' favor, long-time Democratic Senator Jefferson Verne Smith (Greenville) switched his party affiliation to Republican in order to retain his powerful committee chairmanship.[3] This switch resulted in the end of more than a century of Democratic control of the South Carolina Senate.

Verdin serves as the Chairman of the Senate Medical Affairs Committee.

In 2006, the South Carolina Farm Bureau named Verdin Legislator of the Year; and in 2007, Verdin was named Legislator of the Year by the South Carolina Veterinarians Association. Verdin has been consistently rated A+ by the NRA Political Victory Fund.[4] [5] In announcing Verdin's selection as majority whip in 2008, Majority Leader Harvey Peeler said that in the current political environment, the Republican caucus needed "to return to core conservative values".

Following the Charleston church shooting of 2015, Verdin said he would not vote to remove the Confederate battle flag from the grounds of the state house.[6]

Electoral history

YearOfficeTypePartyMain opponentPartyVotes for TurnerResultSwingRef.
Total%.
2000S.C. SenateGeneralRepublicanJames Edward Bryan, Jr.Democratic16,79354.46%1stN/AGain[7]
2004GeneralRepublicanJames Edward Bryan, Jr.Democratic19,40260.04%1st+5.58%Hold[8]
2008GeneralRepublicanWrite-inN/A27,40599.04%1st+39.00%Hold[9]
2012GeneralRepublicanWrite-inN/A27,93198.91%1st-0.13%Hold[10]
2016GeneralRepublicanWrite-inN/A32,16898.85% 1st-0.06%Hold[11]
2020GeneralRepublicanWrite-inN/A39,04996.95%1st-1.90%Hold[12]

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008811260366{{Dead link|date=January 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Greenville News, November 26, 2008, 2A.
  2. http://www.scstatehouse.gov/member.php?code=1874999775 SC Statehouse website
  3. Web site: Sen. Verne Smith remembered for helping land BMW, dedication to education . Destination Greenville . https://archive.today/20100509230300/http://destination.greenvilleonline.com/j-verne-smith/ . May 9, 2010 . en-US . Just days before the 2001 session was to convene, the conservative Smith changed to the GOP, saying he could better represent his strongly Republican district within that party. For the first time in 124 years, Republicans held both legislative bodies. . dead.
  4. http://www.vote-smart.org/issue_rating_category.php?can_id=48080 Vote-Smart website
  5. Web site: NRA-PVF Grades South Carolina . . https://web.archive.org/web/20201103184735/nrapvf.org/grades/south-carolina . November 3, 2020 . en-US . usurped.
  6. News: Hawes. Jennifer. We're asking every member of the SC legislature about the Confederate flag. 24 June 2015. Post and Courier (Charleston). 24 June 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150623161149/http://www.postandcourier.com/apps/pbcs.dll/dcce?Site=CP&Date=20150622&Category=StaticPages&Module=15&Class=15&Type=StaticPages&ID=432782. June 23, 2015. live.
  7. Web site: 2001 . South Carolina Election Report 2000 . April 13, 2024 . SCVotes.gov . S.C. State Election Commission . Columbia, SC.
  8. Web site: January 11, 2006 . South Carolina 2004 Election Report . April 13, 2024 . SCVotes.gov. . State of South Carolina Election Commission.
  9. Web site: 2009-06-01 . 2008 General Election: State Senate District 9 . 2024-07-06 . South Carolina Election Commission.
  10. Web site: 2013-04-09 . 2012 General Election: State Senate District 9 . 2024-07-06 . South Carolina Election Commission.
  11. Web site: 2023-02-01 . 2016 General Election: State Senate, District 9 . 2024-07-06 . South Carolina Election Commission.
  12. Web site: 2021-06-30 . 2020 General Election: State Senate, District. 9 . 2024-07-06 . South Carolina Election Commission.