GREENWOOD, S.C. — Voters in parts of Greenwood County and all of McCormick County get a second look at the same House District 12 matchup Tuesday, Nov. 3, as Republican Rep. Daniel Gibson defends his seat against Democrat Jumelle Brooks, the challenger he beat two years ago.
In 2024, Gibson won it with 8,251 votes, or 52.3%, to 7,527 for Brooks, a margin of 724 votes. Two years before that, he took the seat from longtime Democratic Rep. J. Anne Parks, 52.9% to 47%.
Neither candidate faced a primary this year. Gibson filed on March 16 and Brooks on March 24, and both June primaries were canceled, sending them straight to the general election ballot.
Gibson, finishing his second term, points to his time in office as the reason to keep him there. His stated priorities include raising the state homestead exemption to $150,000 or more, limiting land purchases by foreign adversaries and passing the HALO Act, a measure meant to keep people from interfering with first responders on the job. If he returns, he also wants further cuts to the state income tax and more job training in the skilled trades.
Brooks says the district has seen too little progress and needs a representative who will work across party lines. She lists more than two decades of experience in management, education and business. She wants changes to the state Comprehensive Health Education Act and the RESTORE Act and would revive the Child Care Scholarship program in some form, and she said a two-year term leaves more room to co-sponsor and improve existing bills than to write new ones.
Data centers are a dividing line. Gibson says counties should decide whether to allow them, with added state oversight, and he is a co-sponsor of the South Carolina Data Center Community Protection Act, a proposal led by Rep. John McCravy. The bill would set statewide standards while letting local governments adopt tougher rules or turn projects down. He also noted the centers can bring in tax money but few lasting jobs once construction ends.
Brooks favors a statewide baseline first, followed by local ordinances fitted to each community, and she wants state laws reviewed for the effects of artificial intelligence.
On local needs, Gibson pointed to the thin industrial tax base in McCormick County and to the cost of food, fuel and wages in Greenwood. Brooks named weak wages, few economic opportunities, gaps in mental health and substance abuse services, and limited support for youth programs.
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