2 Republican candidates vie for S.C. House District 91 seat

Two Republican candidates are seeking the District 91 seat in the S.C. House of Representatives.

This seat represents all of Barnwell and Allendale counties, plus a portion of Orangeburg County.

Demaris Johnson and Ben Kinlaw, who both reside in Barnwell County, will be on the June 11 Republican Primary ballot.

The winner of the primary will face Rep. Lonnie Hosey, a Democrat who lives in Barnwell County, who has held the seat since 1999.

DEMARIS JOHNSON

Demaris Johnson grew up in Williston and currently lives there with her husband and son.
"My mother and father instilled in me Christian values, honesty, integrity, and a desire to serve others. As children we were taught the value of patriotism and the great sacrifices of our forefathers," she said.
As a teenager, she worked in the family's bakery in Barnwell. During her senior year of high school, she worked at the Barnwell County Sheriff's Office as a data entry clerk and assisted with the training of the Explorers.
While studying criminal justice at USC Salkehatchie, she continued her work at the sheriff's office.
"My education in criminal justice and my work at the Barnwell County Sheriff's Office taught me the moral and ethical values that are essential for public service," said Johnson.
After college she relocated to Jacksonville, N.C. and became a Nationally Certified Pharmacy Technician. Upon completing her training, Johnson worked at the New River Air Station Medical Clinic as a pharmacy technician. After her son was born, she moved back to Williston and worked for a local bank as a teller and later as a financial services representative.
She is a member of Rosemary Baptist Church, in which her father grew up attending. She is also a proud member of the National Rifle Association. For many years, she has volunteered as a poll worker for local elections.

BEN KINLAW

Benny “Ben” Kinlaw and his wife Peggy have been residents of Barnwell since March 2000. They moved here from their native state of North Carolina after he accepted a job with Mohawk as site manager.
He is completing the final year of his second term on Barnwell County Council (District 5). He serves on several boards through county council.
"We are members of Citizen of Nuclear Technology Awareness and represent Barnwell County as a member of Energy Community Alliance. We set a goal of elevating Barnwell County’s profile with the Savannah River Site’s leadership and attended conferences with them through ECA," said Kinlaw.
He is executive director of Keep Barnwell County Beautiful, an affiliate of Keep America Beautiful, which celebrated its first year of affiliation on March 20, 2024.
Kinlaw is a retired businessman who proudly served his country. He joined the U.S. Air Force on March 22, 1968.
Peggy currently is in her second term serving Barnwell City Council District 2, and as mayor pro tempore.
The couple have one son, Jonathan, who is married to Katie Tilley Kinlaw. They have two grandsons - the oldest is Thatcher, age 11, and the youngest is Harrison, age 9. They live in northwest Georgia, one and half hours north of Atlanta.
The Kinlaws attend First Baptist Church of Barnwell.

Q&A with the candidates

Why have you chosen to run for this seat?

JOHNSON: Sometimes it is necessary to answer a question with a question. Are you pleased with our current state of affairs in our local, state, and federal government? Do you believe our current elected officials at the state level truly represent the voices and needs of our local communities? I believe the answer to these questions is a resounding "no!" It is my desire to connect with the citizens in our local communities to hear their voices and hear their needs. I intend to make your voices heard in the South Carolina House of Representatives. Economic development has evaded our communities for far too long, negatively impacting the quality of life and the financial success and independence of our citizens. I intend to fight tirelessly to make our area and the quality of life for our citizens something we can be proud of.
KINLAW: I made the decision to run for HD-91 to move our district forward. This district is comprised of all Allendale and Barnwell counties, and the western portion of Orangeburg County. In the 2020 Census, 24 out of 46 counties lost population. The smaller and rural counties lost population, and larger areas grew at ten percent rate.
Allendale is one of 24 mostly rural counties that saw population declines over the past decade, and saw its population decline 22.8%, down to 8,039 people in 2020. Barnwell saw its population decline 8.9% down to 20,589. Orangeburg is a larger county, but their population declined 8.9% down to 84,223.
The March 2024 unemployment rate for Allendale County was 6.5%, second highest in the state, Barnwell County was 5.4% fifth highest and Orangeburg County was 4.9%, the tenth highest.
The infrastructure of our district is Allendale County has four lane road and rail, Orangeburg has two four lane roads, two interstates, rail and just over one hour from a port and Barnwell has no four lane road or rail.

How will you ensure the issues of the rural areas you represent are prioritized on a state level? (access to healthcare, gun violence, increasing rates of overdose, etc.)

JOHNSON: I will cultivate strong relationships and promote participation with the citizens in our communities. My town hall meetings in our communities will be a forum for the people to express their concerns and needs. Your voice will be heard on the floor of the S.C. House of Representatives. I will not sit idly by and allow the larger metropolitan areas like Charleston, Columbia, and Greenville to continue to have their needs met while ours are not. I believe every South Carolinian deserves to live in a community that is safe, and has adequate access to health care to include quality mental health care services and substance abuse treatment. Violent crime and drug abuse are destroying our youth. I will fight for additional law enforcement resources to combat these problems. Additionally, I intend to push for legislation that will mandate mandatory minimum sentencing for violent crime and the manufacturer and distribution of illegal substances.
KINLAW: Building foundational relationships with other legislators whose counties face similar challenges is a good starting point in moving our district forward. Over the years I have developed good working relationships with the Executive Branch and many legislators in our General Assembly.
The examples you’ve listed require our state government to implement these programs to ensure the funding is established and is sustainable.

What are three major issues you think need to be fixed or addressed across the state?

JOHNSON:

The three most important issues affecting our state are :

1. Poor distribution of state funding and resources to rural areas compared to urban areas
2. Infrastructure to support and promote economic development in the rural areas. (Example: An interstate highway from Columbia to Savannah that would be a corridor for economic growth for industry with port access.)
3. Education reform that mandates efficient use of public funding that will prepare our children for a prosperous future without them being saddled with debt. Example expand the state's technical college system by adding additional campuses in rural areas that lack access for rural citizens to earn an education that will prepare them to be competitive job candidates for trade and industrial jobs.

KINLAW:

1. A common problem we see not only in our district, but in our state and across America is not enough labor to fill jobs. On top of this worker shortage, those who may be available do not have the soft skills industry requires. Workforce development and adequate funding for our technical schools to assist in the development of a pipeline of workers to satisfy the requirement to fill jobs.
2. Infrastructure need assessment is needed to determine future economic development in the district.
3. Affordable housing is a critical need as new industries locate to our region and for people moving to the district.

What is your first priority if elected?

JOHNSON: I am compiling a list of priorities and issues in the town hall meetings I am hosting. This data will reveal the true needs and desires of my constituents. The people will decide! I am merely their voice.
KINLAW: Our existing industries are facing a worker shortage, and this sends a message to any new industries coming to our region. We have already had a discussion with William Floyd, Executive Director of S.C. Department of Employment Workforce.
S.C. ranks 48th in terms of Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) and our district ranks low in comparison to other counties. The General Assembly passed H.4710 legislation and this will become effective on October 1, 2024. If we increase the LFPR by 1% in the state it means $1.2 billion in extra payroll. The LFPR in October 2022 for S.C. was 56.7% and the U.S. was 62.2%.

What are some of your short-term and long-term goals if elected?

JOHNSON: Political power and economic success are very evident along the I-26 corridor, however, these things are clearly lacking in the more rural parts of the state. It is my belief that our state is stronger if the rural areas that are stricken with poverty begin to grow and prosper. My short-term goal is to assist in planting the seeds for this change to occur. My long-term goal is for these rural areas to become places that are desirable to live in.
KINLAW: Short-term is to work with SCDEW on increasing the Labor Force Participation Rate and workforce development. Long-term is to assess the district’s needs for quality-of-life issues.