William Timmons

William Richardson Timmons IV (born April 30, 1984) is an American attorney, entrepreneur and politician serving as the U.S. Representative for South Carolina's 4th congressional district since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, his district is located in the heart of the Upstate and includes Greenville, Spartanburg, as well as most of those cities' suburbs. Timmons previously served as the South Carolina State Senator from the 6th district from 2016 to 2018.[1][2]

This article is about the South Carolina politician. For the retired lobbyist, see William Timmons (lobbyist).
William Timmons
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from South Carolina's 4th district
Assumed office
January 3, 2019
Preceded byTrey Gowdy
Member of the South Carolina Senate
from the 6th district
In office
November 14, 2016 – November 9, 2018
Preceded byMike Fair
Succeeded byDwight Loftis
Personal details
Born
William Richardson Timmons IV

(1984-04-30) April 30, 1984
Greenville, South Carolina, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)
Sarah Anderson
​
(m. 2019)​
EducationGeorge Washington University (BA)
University of South Carolina (MA, JD)
WebsiteHouse website
Military service
Branch/serviceSouth Carolina Air National Guard
Years of service2018–present
RankFirst Lieutenant

Early life and education

A native of Greenville, South Carolina, Timmons attended George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs, where he earned a degree in international affairs and political science. He earned a Juris Doctor and a master's degree in international studies from the University of South Carolina. He is a lifelong member of Christ Church in Greenville, and serves as a first lieutenant in the South Carolina Air National Guard. Timmons is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Cybersecurity at New York University. On July 17, 2019, he married his wife, Sarah, on the balcony of the Capitol. Senator Tim Scott from South Carolina officiated.[3]

Early career

Timmons spent four years working for the 13th Circuit solicitor's office. In this role, Timmons focused on serving victims of domestic violence and helped create one central court for all domestic violence cases in Greenville County.[4]

A small business owner, Timmons owns Swamp Rabbit CrossFit and Soul Yoga, and he previously operated the law firm Timmons & Company, LLC.

In 2016, Timmons challenged longtime state senator Mike Fair in the Republican primary for a Greenville-area district. He finished first in the primary with 49.5 percent of the vote, fewer than 100 votes shy of winning the nomination outright.[5] He then defeated Fair in the runoff with 65 percent of the vote[6] and faced no major-party opposition in the November general election.[7]

U.S. House of Representatives

2018
Main article: 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina § District 4

Timmons was elected in the 2018 mid-term election to replace retiring Republican incumbent Trey Gowdy in South Carolina's 4th congressional district: his campaign slogan was "Washington is broken."[8][9] On June 10, 2018, Timmons placed second in a 13-candidate primary–the real contest in this heavily Republican district–receiving 19.2% of the vote. On June 28, 2018, Timmons defeated former state senator Lee Bright in the runoff, receiving 54.2% of the vote to become the Republican nominee. He did not have to give up his state senate seat to run for Congress; South Carolina state senators serve four-year terms that run concurrently with presidential elections.

Timmons went on to face Brandon Brown in the November general election. Timmons defeated Brown, receiving 59.5% of the vote.[10][11] Timmons became one of the youngest U.S. representatives from South Carolina since 1972.[12]

Tenure

Timmons was sworn into office on January 3, 2019 in the midst of a government shutdown. He cosponsored legislation to require Congress to balance the budget, defund Planned Parenthood, support Gold Star Families, strengthen national defense, and promote school choice.[13]

Timmons serves on the Financial Services Committee, where he introduced legislation seeking to counter China's efforts to expand its 5G influence in countries receiving assistance from international financial institutions. He was elected by his classmates to represent the freshman class on the Republican Steering Committee.[14]

He introduced legislation proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to limit the number of consecutive terms that a Member of Congress may serve (H.J.Res.86).[15]

Timmons supported President Donald Trump during the Democratic-controlled House impeachment process, quoted as saying about the whole process, "It is very, very, very broken" (referring to his 2018 campaign slogan "Washington is broken"). He followed that by saying he thought the process would be fair in the Senate and cast the opposition to impeachment as "bipartisan."[16]

In December 2020, Timmons was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives who signed an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Joe Biden prevailed[17] over incumbent Donald Trump. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of the election held by another state.[18][19][20]

In January 2021, Timmons announced he would object to the certification of President-elect Joe Biden as President.[21] When Congress re-convened after the storming of the United States Capitol, Timmons voted to object to the Electoral College results.[22]

Committee assignments

Electoral history
South Carolina's 4th congressional district, 2020[23]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican William Timmons 222,126 61.61
Democratic Kim Nelson 133,023 36.89
Constitution Michael Chandler 5,090 1.41
N/A Write-Ins 311 0.09
Margin of victory 83,702 23.4
Total votes 360,550 100.0
Republican hold
South Carolina's 4th congressional district, 2018[24]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican William Timmons 145,321 59.57
Democratic Brandon Brown 89,182 36.56
American Guy Furay 9,203 3.77
N/A Write-Ins 244 0.10
Margin of victory 56,139 23.01
Total votes 243,950 100.0
Republican hold
Republican primary runoff results
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican William Timmons 37,096 54.29
Republican Lee Bright 31,236 45.71
Total votes 68,332 100.0
Republican primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Lee Bright 16,742 24.95
Republican William Timmons 12,885 19.21
Republican Dan Hamilton 12,494 18.62
Republican Josh Kimbrell 7,465 11.13
Republican James Epley 5,386 8.03
Republican Stephen Brown 5,078 7.57
Republican Shannon Pierce 2,442 3.64
Republican Mark Burns 1,662 2.48
Republican Claude Schmid 1,414 2.11
Republican Dan Albert 510 0.76
Republican John Marshall Mosser 457 0.68
Republican Justin David Sanders 354 0.53
Republican Barry Bell 200 0.3
Total votes 67,089 100.0
South Carolina State Senate, District 6 general election, 2016
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican William Timmons 31,732 85.10
Constitution Roy G. Magnuson 5,556 14.90
Total votes 37,288 100.0
South Carolina State Senate, District 6 Republican primary runoff, 2016
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican William Timmons 6,244 65.30
Republican Michael Fair 3,318 34.70
Total votes 9,562 100.0
South Carolina State Senate, District 6 Republican primary, 2016
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Michael Fair 3,578 36.30
Republican William Timmons 4,880 49.51
Republican Johnny Edwards 1,399 14.19
Total votes 9,857 100.0

References
  1. "William Timmons". Ballotpedia. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  2. "William Timmons". SC State House website. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  3. LaFleur, Elizabeth. "Rep. William Timmons marries on Senate balcony as Sen. Tim Scott officiates". www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/2019/08/02/congressman-greenville-sc-native-william-timmons-married-tim-scott/1898854001/. Greenville News. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  4. "William Timmons for Congress".
  5. https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=816827
  6. https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=819455
  7. https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=816782
  8. Lovegrove, Jamie (May 5, 2018). "In crowded GOP primary to replace Trey Gowdy, conservatives vie for Trump voters". The Post & Courier. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  9. [email protected], Jamie Lovegrove. "SC's 7 congressmen split along party lines as House votes to impeach Trump". Post and Courier. Retrieved 2020-01-04.
  10. "South Carolina Election Results: Fourth House District". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-12-08.
  11. [email protected], scytl. "Election Night Reporting". www.enr-scvotes.org. Retrieved 2018-12-08.
  12. "William Timmons moves into Trey Gowdy's seat in SC's 4th Congressional District". The Greenville News. Retrieved 2018-12-08.
  13. "Rep. Timmons Cosponsors his First Legislation".
  14. "Timmons Introduces Bill to Counter China's Efforts to Expand 5G Influence".
  15. "H.J.Res.86 - Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to limit the number of consecutive terms that a Member of Congress may serve".
  16. [email protected], Jamie Lovegrove. "SC's 7 congressmen split along party lines as House votes to impeach Trump". Post and Courier. Retrieved 2020-01-04.
  17. Blood, Michael R.; Riccardi, Nicholas (December 5, 2020). "Biden officially secures enough electors to become president". AP News. Archived from the original on December 8, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  18. Liptak, Adam (2020-12-11). "Supreme Court Rejects Texas Suit Seeking to Subvert Election". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  19. "Order in Pending Case" (PDF). Supreme Court of the United States. 2020-12-11. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  20. Diaz, Daniella. "Brief from 126 Republicans supporting Texas lawsuit in Supreme Court". CNN. Archived from the original on December 12, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  21. Brown, Kirk (2021-01-04). "SC congressmen join GOP effort to oppose Biden election results, but not Sen. Tim Scott". Greenville News. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  22. Brown, Kirk (2021-01-07). "Duncan, Timmons and 3 other SC congressmen voted to object to Electoral College results". Greenville News. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  23. "Unofficial Results". 2020 Statewide General Elections November 3, 2020. South Carolina Election Commission. November 10, 2018. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  24. "Unofficial Results". 2018 Statewide General Elections November 6, 2018. South Carolina Election Commission. November 10, 2018. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
South Carolina Senate
Preceded by
Mike Fair		 Member of the South Carolina Senate
from the 6th district
2016–2018		 Succeeded by
Dwight Loftis
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Trey Gowdy		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from South Carolina's 4th congressional district
2019–present		 Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by
Van Taylor		 United States Representatives by seniority
361st		 Succeeded by
Rashida Tlaib
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