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Mark Hammond (American politician)

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Mark Hammond
Hammond in 2015
41st Secretary of State of South Carolina
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 15, 2003
Governor
Preceded byJim Miles
Clerk of Courts of Spartanburg County
In office
1997–2003
Preceded byKen Huckaby
Succeeded byMarc Kitchens
Personal details
Born
John Mark Hammond[1]

(1963-11-29) November 29, 1963 (age 60)
Lancaster, South Carolina, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
EducationNewberry College (BA)
Clemson University (MA)

John Mark Hammond (born November 29, 1963) is an American Republican politician from South Carolina. He has served as South Carolina Secretary of State since January 15, 2003.[2]

Early life and career

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Mark Hammond was born in Lancaster, South Carolina, and grew up in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Following graduation from Dorman High School in Spartanburg, he attended Newberry College, graduating with a B.A. in political science in 1986.[2] Two years later, he earned an M.A. in education from Clemson University.[2] He began his professional career as a juvenile probation officer for the South Carolina Department of Youth Services. From 1990 to 1996, he served as a criminal investigator for the Spartanburg County, South Carolina-based 7th Judicial Circuit Solicitor's Office. In 1996, he was elected as Clerk of Courts for Spartanburg County, and was the first Republican to serve in that post since Reconstruction. Hammond succeeded Democrat Ken Huckaby, who had served four terms since 1977.[3] He was elected to a second term as Clerk of Courts in 2000 serving until his election as South Carolina Secretary of State.

Secretary of State

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In 2002, Hammond was elected as South Carolina's 41st Secretary of State, after defeating two other candidates in the Republican primary, and winning over 600,000 votes in the general election.[2] He was sworn in on January 15, 2003.[4] Governor Mark Sanford appointed Marc Kitchens to succeed Hammond in the office of Spartanburg County Clerk of Courts.[5][dead link‍]

In addition to his duties as Secretary of State, he also serves as Co-Chairman of International Relations Committee on Business Services.[6]

He was re-elected in 2006, winning 61% of the vote, which at the time was the largest margin of victory in a contested statewide election in South Carolina history.[2]

In 2010, Hammond was re-elected defeating his opponent, Democrat Marjorie Johnson with 60.9% of the vote.[7]

In 2014, Hammond ran for reelection against Democrat Ginny Deerin whose campaign received a Republican endorsement from former South Carolina First Lady Jenny Sanford.[8] Deerin was also endorsed by the South Carolina Club for Growth, a conservative political organization that usually supports Republicans. She was the first ever Democrat running for statewide office to have been endorsed by the Club for Growth.[9] Both Jenny Sanford and former South Carolina Club for Growth President Chad Walldorf served on the Board of Directors of WINGS for Kids, the nonprofit organization founded by Deerin.[10] Deerin had made deregulating nonprofits a central theme of her campaign,[11] which contrasted with Hammond's tough record of charities enforcement.[12][13] Hammond won reelection with 59.5% of the vote.[14]

in 2018, Hammond was re-elected to a fifth term as Secretary of State and for a sixth term in 2022.

Electoral history

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South Carolina Secretary of State Republican Primary Election, 2002
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Mark Hammond 110,761 38.87
Republican Ed McMullen 96,451 33.84
Republican Lois Eargle 77,769 27.29
South Carolina Secretary of State Republican Primary Runoff Election, 2002
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Mark Hammond 151,942 54.75
Republican Ed McMullen 125,567 45.25
South Carolina Secretary of State Election, 2002
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Mark Hammond 610,799 56.84
Democratic Rick Wade 463,501 43.13
Write-ins Write-ins 291 0.03
South Carolina Secretary of State Republican Primary Election, 2006
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Mark Hammond (inc.) 125,016 58.76
Republican Bill McKown 87,744 41.24
South Carolina Secretary of State Election, 2006
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Mark Hammond (inc.) 656,661 61.24
Democratic Cheryl Footman 415,211 38.72
Write-ins Write-ins 473 0.04
South Carolina Secretary of State Election, 2010
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Mark Hammond (inc.) 805,783 60.91
Democratic Marjorie Johnson 516,414 39.04
Write-ins Write-ins 638 0.05
South Carolina Secretary of State Election, 2014
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Mark Hammond (inc.) 730,739 59.51
Democratic Ginny Deerin 496,344 40.42
Write-ins Write-ins 788 0.06

References

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  1. ^ "History of the Secretary of State's Office" (PDF).
  2. ^ a b c d e "Secretary of State's Biography". South Carolina. Archived from the original on March 30, 2019. Retrieved October 10, 2010.
  3. ^ McDonough, Molly (January 12, 1996). "Veteran Spartanburg clerk of court to face first challenger". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. p. C2.
  4. ^ "Lt. Gov., state officers also sworn in Wednesday". WIS. January 16, 2003. Retrieved July 8, 2012.
  5. ^ "Kitchens resigns, issues apology following arrest". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. February 3, 2010. Retrieved July 8, 2012.
  6. ^ Reid, Charles F. (2011). South Carolina Legislative Manual (PDF). p. 338. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 11, 2012.
  7. ^ "South Carolina Election Results". The New York Times.
  8. ^ Jeremy Diamond (October 31, 2014). "Jenny Sanford has got a lot to say about 'Mark' -- Mark Hammond that is - CNN Politics". CNN.
  9. ^ "Deerin first Democrat endorsed by conservative group for state race". Bluffton Today. September 21, 2014. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
  10. ^ "Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on August 18, 2023. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  11. ^ "Secretary of State: Ginny Deerin (Democrat)". Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  12. ^ "Robo Calling Fundraiser Fined 1m by SC Secretary of State".
  13. ^ "Article 404 - GoUpstate - Spartanburg, SC". GoUpstate. Archived from the original on April 13, 2021. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  14. ^ "SC - Election Results". www.enr-scvotes.org.
Party political offices
Preceded by Republican nominee for Secretary of State of South Carolina
2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022 		Most recent
Legal offices
Preceded by Secretary of State of South Carolina
2003–present 		Incumbent
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