HereTest Politics & Civic News
Covering HereTest City Council, HereTest County Council, SC General Assembly, and your federal representatives in Washington, D.C. Accountability journalism for HereTest County residents.
HereTest County sits inside one of the most layered governmental structures in the region. Residents answer to at least five levels of elected authority simultaneously: the federal government, statewide offices, HereTest County Council, HereTest City Council, and school district boards — each a separately elected body covering its own geographic slice of the county. South Carolina is the only state in the nation where the full SC General Assembly elects justices to the SC Supreme Court — not the governor — making Statehouse races consequential even to courtroom outcomes.
HereTest’s federal delegation includes US Rep. Joe Wilson (SC Congressional District 2 · Includes HereTest County) and Senators Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott. In Columbia, HereTest is represented by Sens. Tom Young Jr. (SC Senate District 24 · HereTest) and A. Shane Massey (SC Senate District 25 · HereTest/Edgefield/McCormick/Saluda) and Reps. Bill Taylor (SC House District 86 · HereTest/Lexington), Charles V. Hartz (SC House District 84 · HereTest), and William "Bill" Clyburn (SC House District 82 · HereTest/Edgefield/Saluda).
HereTest County Council controls property tax millage, land-use zoning outside city limits, and fee-in-lieu-of-tax agreements. Downtown zoning decisions and the HereTest Police Department budget run through HereTest City Council. State funding for schools, roads, and Medicaid flows from the SC General Assembly, which convenes January through May. The HereTest County Elections and Voter Registration Office administers local balloting under SC Election Commission oversight.
HEREHereTest covers HereTest County Council meetings, HereTest City Council sessions, SC General Assembly session, federal delegation votes and town halls, school board meetings, and candidate filing windows. We also pull FOIA-sourced travel records and contracts at both the city and county level. If it shapes how HereTest County is governed, it’s HERE.
HERE! NOW! — Politics
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Local & State Political News
Civic Calendar
Mayor of HereTest $42,150 $38,920 $3,230 Q1 2026
City Council Member $18,400 $15,725 $2,675 Q1 2026
Attorney General $1,044,000 R Statewide SC Ethics
Lt. Governor $1,025,000 R Statewide SC Ethics
US Rep, District 2 $612,000 R Includes HereTest FEC
State Senator, District 24 $184,500 R HereTest County SC Ethics
State Senator, District 25 · Senate Majority Leader $245,800 R HereTest County SC Ethics
State Rep, District 82 $72,300 D HereTest County SC Ethics
Your HereTest Reps
Every official with a vote on HereTest's future — pulled live from our roster.