NEWBERRY — Ahead of the June 12 primary, secretary of state candidate Joshua Putnam stopped by Newberry to meet with constituents before they head to the polls.
Putnam represents Anderson, Greenville and Pickens counties in the State House, he has been a House member for the last seven years.
“A year ago we announced our candidacy to run for Secretary of State, we realized it’s one of the most overlooked offices in all of South Carolina. The Secretary of State office is very uniquely positioned where it touches every aspect of government just like the governor does. I believe that if you touch every aspect of government it gives you the ability to have a voice on every aspect. I believe we need larger, more powerful voices in Columbia to talk about conservative Republican ideas,” Putnam said.
Having served in the House for seven years, Putnam said only one major issue is usually addressed every year which he believes doesn’t serve the public well.
“I believe we need more voices out there outside of the halls of the House and the Senate to start talking about the issues that we really need to address in South Carolina. I believe that Secretary of State is a very unique office that can do that,” he said.
If elected, one of the issues Putnam wants to tackle is bringing the Election Commission underneath the jurisdiction of the Secretary of State’s office.
“That is how most states run their Election Commission. I think it’s important for the voters to have somebody that’s elected that’s over how our elections are run in South Carolina,” Putnam said.
Putnam also wants to take on small business reform, making it easier to do business in South Carolina and being an advocate for the small business owner.
“To often we give a lot of attention to mega corporations that move here, I’m glad we have mega corporations, but we also have to realize that there are small business owners on Main Street and on every other street that tend not to get those types of breaks,” he said. “We need to make sure they are looked after just as well as we look after the mega corporations in South Carolina.”
Putnam added that if elected, he wants to talk about every issue that South Carolina faces from education to road improvements.
“The Secretary of State is in an unique opportunity to be the leader on all of these issues that people face every single day. We need a fighter in that office to start talking about things that affect us on a daily basis in South Carolina,” he said. “I show up to work and I will be the hardest working person you’ll probably ever meet. I want to be the voice of the people, give them a larger, more powerful voice and I want to make sure that their values are represented every single day in Columbia.”
Leading up to election day, Putnam and his wife Holly, along with their children Asher, Abram and Anniston have been campaigning across the state on a bus tour to meet as many voters as possible.
“I represent Anderson county, my family is important to me so it’s hard to travel the entire state and meet all the voters. I’m not the person to just pick up and leave my wife and kids at home so we decided to make it a family ordeal and travel the entire state in a RV, living in the RV until election day,” Putnam said. “By doing the tour, it allows us to meet as many voters and I hope voters understand that if they vote for us as the next secretary of state that we will go to work for them and we will not stop working.”
