No one is calling it quits — yet — in contested SC Supreme Court justice race

No one had dropped out as of late Wednesday in an unusual and hotly contested race for a S.C. Supreme Court associate justice seat that will take place next week on March 4 by the 170 members of the Legislature.

An unscientific and random survey of some 25 lawmakers by a State newspaper reporter this week found no clear favorite among four candidates, as well as a lot of undecideds and “no comments.”

The race for a 10-year term on the $233,606-a-year post features incumbent associate justice John Cannon Few against three challengers. They are: lawyer and former House Speaker Jay Lucas, Court of Appeals Judge Blake Hewitt and Administrative Law Court Chief Judge Ralph King “Tripp” Anderson III.

“Usually by this time in a four-person race, two people have dropped out, and the race is tightening, and it’s becoming apparent who will win,” said a longtime State House lobbyist who didn’t want to be identified because lobbyists customarily don’t speak publicly about state judicial races.

“That is not the case this time.”

The race for the elite state judicial post is marked by a number of strange dynamics, including:

Rare challenge of sitting justice

Sitting justices are hardly ever challenged. The move by politically-connected former S.C. House Speaker Jay Lucas, to oust Few is quite rare. Lucas’ only prior judicial experience is a stint as a town judge for the small town of Hartsville in Darlington County in 1995 and 1996.

Few has climbed the judicial ladder, first spending 10 years as a circuit court trial judge, followed six years as chief judge on the Court of Appeals and the last 10 years as a Supreme Court associate justice.

Lucas, who became Speaker in 2014 and retired from the House in 2022, is making his first run for any type of state judgeship in his quest for a seat on the state’s top court. Ordinarily, judicial candidates must “get in line” and make several runs at the coveted seat.

During the past five years, Lucas has practiced law only part-time and been a senior executive vice president for governmental affairs at health giant Prisma Health from October 2022 through October 2024, he told the Joint Merit Selection Commission.

Few’s opinions drew fire

Few’s opinions in recent years in an abortion case and a legislative pay case made him vulnerable to a challenge, some lawmakers say. In the abortion case, Few first ruled in a 3-2 majority decision to overturn a new state abortion law, angering right-to-life lawmakers who make up a substantial legislative voting bloc.

A subsequent ruling in which Few approved an overhauled abortion law did little to relieve their anger. Few’s other purported transgression was to join a unanimous opinion in November that said lawmakers could not vote themselves a pay raise in an ongoing legislative session.

Few has most to lose

Of the four candidates, Few has the most to lose. Because he is the second-ranking justice on the high court in terms of seniority, Few is next in line to succeed Chief Justice John Kittredge, 69, when Kittredge retires in a few years.

Ousting a chief justice-in-waiting for political reasons would be an abrupt departure from decades of custom. Such an act might send a message to all South Carolina judges and justices that in addition to the law, they need to pay attention to the politics of the moment, some say.

Senate leaders doubt Lucas

Recent public statements of Sens. Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, Senate Majority Leader, and Luke Rankin, R-Horry, have questioned the candidacy of Lucas.

In a Feb. 18 speech on the Senate floor, Massey said that putting Lucas, who lacked experience as a judge, on the Supreme Court, would “soil” the state’s judiciary.

“It looks like backroom deals are being made for someone who is not as qualified for or deserving of the position. It looks like the legislators are cooking the books,” Massey said.

Rankin, who is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and whose father was a judge, said in a public filing that installing the judicially inexperienced Lucas on the Supreme Court would cause some to believe that Lucas’ ascension was “driven by legislative influence.”

In a Judicial Merit Selection Commission hearing last fall, Lucas defended himself against allegations he would be subservient to the Legislature, telling commission members that “as someone who understands the Legislature, he would be more inclined to hold the legislature accountable,” according to the commission’s report on judicial candidates.

Some House leaders back Lucas

In contrast to Massey and Rankin, House Speaker Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, is a staunch supporter of Lucas.

“Jay Lucas is the most proven, conservative voice for the bench at a time when our state needs rock-solid constitutionalists who will uphold the rule of law. I know his heart, I know his mind, and I’ve witnessed him work through our state’s most complex legal challenges. I’m proud to support him.”

Another high-ranking House supporter of Lucas is Rep. Bruce Bannister, R-Greenville. Bannister is chair of the powerful House Ways & Means Committee.

Lucas: he won’t abide by retirement rules

An unconventional declaration by Lucas at his hearing last fall before the Judicial Merit Selection Commission that state law allows him to serve a full 10-year term on the Supreme Court, even SC judges’ retirement age has been believed to be 72 for years.

Lucas is now 68 and will turn 69 in August, about three years into his 10-year term., should he win a seat.

Lucas’s assertion stunned Rankin, who told Lucas that his interpretation conflicted with state law and decades of adherence to the 72-year-old retirement age by countless South Carolina judges.

“Even the appearance that a judge believes he is exempt from rules that govern others threatens public confidence in the fairness and uniformity of our judicial system,” Rankin wrote in a public statement on the retirement matter. .

A 2022 Attorney General’s opinion backs Rankin’s interpretation of the law.

“It remains our opinion that state law requires judges to retire at the age of 72. Every previous judge has retired upon reaching that age, and our opinion reflects that longstanding practice,” wrote an attorney general spokesman in a recent email to The State newspaper.

Former chief justice made jump from legislature

Parallels between Lucas’ effort to jump from being a lawyer to a seat on the Supreme Court and former Chief Justice Jean Toal, who did just that in 1988, don’t hold up in all respects.

When Toal, like Lucas an experienced House lawmaker, leapt from being a lawyer to the Supreme Court, she had run twice before.

And unlike Lucas, who also has a fine reputation as an in-the-trenches lawyer, Toal was far more experienced in dealing with appellate issues in high courts, said Columbia attorney Jay Bender, who worked with Toal on many cases before she joined the Supreme Court.

“Jay Lucas was my law clerk, and I like Jay, but Jean had far more range and depth when she went to the Supreme Court,” Bender said Wednesday.

Should SC judges fear politicians?

Is South Carolina’s independent judiciary at risk in this race? Rep. Spencer Wetmore, D-Charleston, said although all Supreme Court candidates in the race are well qualified, there is a perception by some that politics may be playing too much of a role in this Supreme Court selection process.

“I do think this is an opportunity for us to demonstrate our respect for judicial independence,” Wetmore said.

This story was originally published February 26, 2026 at 5:30 AM with the headline "No one is calling it quits — yet — in contested SC Supreme Court justice race."