A look at who could be SC’s next agriculture chief

By: Katharine Wilson

Outlets: South Carolina Daily Gazette

Published: October 16, 2026

Words: 1,405

Last Updated: 1 day, 15 hours ago

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COLUMBIA — The race to be South Carolina’s next agriculture commissioner features a Republican with a background in state government who’s backed by President Donald Trump and a Democrat with federal government experience who touts a willingness to buck the administration.

Both nominees hail from rural Clarendon County. But their paths diverge.

Republican Cody Simpson is a fifth-generation farmer who left the fields to become Gov. Henry McMaster’s agriculture adviser until his May 2025 …

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