Incumbent William Timmons (R) and Adam Morgan (R) are running in the Republican primary for South Carolina’s 4th Congressional District. The primary is on June 11, 2024.
Both Timmons and Morgan describe themselves as conservatives. Heritage Action—a nonprofit that issues conservative scorecards for members of Congress—gave Timmons a 95% lifetime score and a 100% congressional score. Morgan is a co-founder of the South Carolina Freedom Caucus chapter. House Freedom Caucus member Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) has endorsed him.
Politico‘s Olivia Beavers wrote, “[p]rimary challenges from the right aren’t anything new for House Republicans. But Morgan is making a new implication among conservatives more explicit: it’s not enough to back the right flank’s priorities anymore, you also have to be willing to rebel against party leadership.” In an interview with the outlet, Morgan criticized Timmons’ support of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). He said, “On the fight in January, William was completely absent. He wasn’t with the Freedom Caucus. He was with McCarthy. And that’s a huge stain on his record.”
Timmons defended his conservative record, saying, “You’re hard pressed to find someone more conservative. You might find someone louder, but you’re not gonna find somebody more conservative. … Adam’s greatest ‘legislative accomplishments’ are filing a lawsuit and abandoning the Republican Party to form a third-party caucus [the South Carolina Freedom Caucus chapter] that shrank in size under his ‘leadership.’”
Former President Donald Trump (R) has endorsed Timmons. This is the second time Trump endorsed him, the first being in 2022. In that race, Timmons won the primary with 53% of the vote, while challengers Mark Burns (R), Michael LaPierre (R), and George Abuzeid (R) earned 24%, 17%, and 6%, respectively.
Voters first elected Timmons to the U.S. House in 2018. His work experience includes owning a small business, working as a prosecutor in the Thirteenth Circuit Solicitor’s Office, and serving as a captain and JAG officer in the South Carolina Air National Guard. He was a member of the South Carolina Senate from 2016 to 2019. Timmons said, “I will keep fighting against the radical Democrats in Washington, to secure our disastrous southern border, to hold Joe Biden and his failing administration accountable, and to put America first.”
Morgan is a businessman, author, composer, public speaker, and licensed attorney. He represents District 20 in the South Carolina House of Representatives and was first elected in 2018. Morgan said, “People know my record in South Carolina. I’m frank, I will fight the left, and I will even stand up to members in my own party to actually effect change. We need that in Washington…you need people who will jump in the ring and recognize it’s a battle and will fight for every inch.”
Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have received 39.8% of the vote in this district and Trump would have received 58.4%.
All 435 seats are up for election. Republicans have a 218 to 213 majority with four vacancies. As of March 2024, 42 members of the U.S. House had announced they were not running for re-election. To read more about the U.S. House elections taking place this year, click here.