GOP SC House ethics chairman to launch bid for Senate seat held by late Sen. Leatherman

South Carolina Rep. Jay Jordan, who chairs the House Ethics Committee, will announce his Senate bid this afternoon to fill the unexpired term of the late Sen. Hugh Leatherman.

Jordan will make the announcement at noon at the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce.

The term for the vacant District 31 seat, held for 41 years by Leatherman who died Nov. 12, ends in 2024.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether Jordan will keep his House seat.

Jordan is the second person so far to announce a run for the seat.

This month, businessman Mike Reichenbach launched his bid, saying he’ll put $100,000 of his own money into his campaign.

Jordan, 41, has represented his Florence County district since 2015 when he won a special election to succeed former state Rep. Kris Crawford. An attorney, Jordan serves on the House Judiciary Committee, and over the past several months has chaired the chamber’s House redistricting subcommittee.

In December 2020, he was elected chairman of the House Ethics Committee.

The District 31 special election will be held in late March.

This is a developing story. It will be updated.