Former gov. candidate challenges state senator in Chester, York

A former third-party candidate for South Carolina governor has filed to challenge a state senator representing York and Chester counties as a Democrat.

Morgan Bruce Reeves, nominated for governor by the Green and United Citizens parties in 2010 and 2014, will run against Creighton Coleman in the June 14 Democratic primary.

Reeves filed in District 17 this week in his home county of Fairfield. The largely rural district includes all of Fairfield and Chester counties as well as the southern portion of York County, including the city of York and southern Rock Hill.

Reeves ran unsuccessfully as a fusion candidate for the two small, left-wing parties in 2010 and was nominated again in 2014 by the United Citizens – an election that also featured a rematch between Republican Gov. Nikki Haley and Democratic state Sen. Vincent Sheheen.

The third-party contender didn’t perform well at the ballot box in either race, but managed to share the stage with both major candidates in a string of televised 2014 debates, in which he argued the state could raise tax revenue by legalizing marijuana, arguing the plant sprang from “the imagination of God.”

Reeves was a NFL player for the Detroit Lions and the then-Baltimore Colts before becoming a pastor.

Now Reeves is challenging Coleman, the incumbent senator since 2008. The primary field will also include Democrat Mike Fanning of Great Falls, who has yet to file, and Republican Mark Palmer of York.

This story was originally published March 24, 2016 at 1:36 PM with the headline "Former gov. candidate challenges state senator in Chester, York."