| Ross Turner | |
| State Senate: | South Carolina |
| District: | 8th |
| Term Start: | 2012 |
| Predecessor: | David L. Thomas |
| Birth Date: | 15 May 1964 |
| Birth Place: | Greenville, South Carolina, United States |
| Profession: | Insurance agent |
| Children: | 3 |
| Party: | Republican |
| Education: | Clemson University (B.S., 1996) |
Clarence Ross Turner III[1] (born May 15, 1964) is an American politician and insurance businessman. He is a member of the South Carolina Senate from the 8th District (Greenville), serving since 2012. Turner is a member of the Republican party.
Turner was first elected to represent South Carolina's 8th Senate district in 2012,[2] when he defeated David L. Thomas in the Republican primary.
Turner was a member of the following state senate committees in the 2021–2022 legislative session:
As of May 2020, Turner was part of a new Reopen South Carolina select committee, which worked on policy for the post-COVID reopening of the state's economy.[3]
In June 2023, Turner endorsed Tim Scott in the 2024 United States presidential election.[4]
Turner is the son of Clarence Ross Jr. (1931–2013)[5] and Anne Summers Turner, and was born in Greenville, South Carolina. He is a Methodist. After earning a B.S. degree in Financial Management from Clemson University in 1986, he married wife Julie on January 20, 1990. They have three children. Turner became a Certified Insurance Counselor in 1994. He currently heads his family's insurance business, The Turner Agency, Inc.[6]
| Year | Office | Type | Party | Main opponent | Party | Votes for Turner | Result | Swing | Ref. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | % | . | |||||||||||||
| 2012 | S.C. Senate | Rep. primary | Republican | David L. Thomas | Republican | 1,953 | 26.55% | 2nd | N/A | Runoff | N/A | [7] | |||
| Rep. primary runoff | Republican | Joe Swann | Republican | 2,784 | 50.32% | 1st | N/A | N/A | [8] | ||||||
| General | Republican | Write-in | N/A | 37,847 | 98.34% | 1st | N/A | Hold | [9] | ||||||
| 2016 | General | Republican | Write-in | N/A | 42,425 | 98.59% | 1st | +0.25% | Hold | [10] | |||||
| 2020 | Rep. primary | Republican | Janice S. Curtis | Republican | 9,438 | 68.20% | 1st | +17.82% | N/A | [11] [12] [13] | |||||
| General | Republican | Write-in | N/A | 49,180 | 96.36% | 1st | -2.23% | Hold | [14] | ||||||
| 2024 | General | Republican | Taylor Culliver | Democratic | [15] | ||||||||||