MURRELLS INLET – Republican state House District 108 candidate Lee Hewitt Monday reported record high campaign donations for the seat and announced more high profile endorsements.
According to the state Ethics Commission online database, Hewitt’s $28,480.00 donation total is the largest initial quarter total reported for a House District 108 race even though it was achieved in just seven weeks between announcing his candidacy on November 9th and the year-end.
“I’m so grateful for the tremendous outpouring of financial support for my candidacy in such a short period of time,” Lee Hewitt said. “I’m very pleased with our progress, but know that we will have to continue to work hard raising even more money and earning the support of more voters.”
The next highest initial quarter total was $15,260.00 raised by incumbent Rep. Stephen Goldfinch, R-Murrells Inlet, for the 2012 election.
“I’ve been involved in most of the District 108 elections over the last 10 years and have not seen anyone with the ability to raise money like Lee,” Hewitt campaign manager Tom Swatzel said. “He is well-known and respected in the community and connects well with people.”
Of Hewitt’s 82 donors, 72 are from the Grand Strand area.
Hewitt also announced endorsements from the following public and GOP officials to add to his growing total:
SCDOT Commissioner Mike Wooten, Horry County Council Chairman Mark Lazarus, former S.C. Transportation Infrastructure Bank Chairman Don Leonard, Pawleys Island Town Councilman Mike Adams, Pawleys Island Mayor Bill Otis, Georgetown County School Board member Sarah Elliott, former state Rep. Linwood Altman, and former Georgetown County Republican Party Chairman Alan Walters.
Click here for a complete list of endorsements and quotes.
In November, Goldfinch announced that he will seek the District 34 state Senate seat of retiring Sen. Ray Cleary, R-Murrells Inlet.
The filing period for the election is in March, with primary elections on June 14th.
Hewitt, 55, has lived in Murrells Inlet for nearly 40 years. He is owner of Garden City Realty and has served as President of the Coastal Carolina Association of Realtors and on the board of the state Association of Realtors. He is a Certified Residential Specialist, a Certified Professional Mediator, and a graduate of the Realtors Institute.
In 2014, Hewitt was appointed by Gov. Nikki Haley and confirmed by the state Senate as the 7th Congressional District Representative to the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control Board of Directors.
Hewitt has served as chairman of the Georgetown County Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals and on the Georgetown County Comprehensive Land Use Plan Committee, Grand Strand Area Transportation Committee, and the Southern Evacuation Lifeline Road Task Force.
Hewitt is a charter member of the Murrells Inlet Rotary Club, an AAU youth basketball coach, and a founder and current Co-Chairman of the Murrells Inlet 4th of July Boat Parade.
He is a 1982 graduate of Coastal Carolina University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.
Hewitt is an active member of Belin Memorial United Methodist Church. He and his wife, Whitney, have two sons, William, a senior at the University of South Carolina, and Coleman, a sophomore at Waccamaw High School.
Hewitt’s campaign website is www.hewittforhouse.com
House District 108 includes all of coastal Georgetown County, except for the city of Georgetown, and the northern coastal portion of Charleston County to Mt. Pleasant.