Law enforcement keeps us safe—they’re the thin blue line between order and chaos.

In District 10, from Powdersville to Piedmont, I’ve seen our deputies in action: busting predators in undercover ops, responding to calls across those growing corridors, and even setting up substations right here—like the new one on the AnMed Piedmont campus—to cut response times and build trust. Our Anderson County Sheriff’s Office handles over seventy-five thousand calls a year, with crime down twenty percent last year. That’s real results from real heroes.

I grew up here knowing these folks aren’t just badges—they’re neighbors who coach ball, help after storms, and put their lives on the line every shift. But they face attacks, burnout, and politics that tie their hands. No more.

In Columbia, I’ll back them hard: push for the buffer law to keep agitators twenty-five feet away on duty, expand privacy protections so officers’ homes stay off public lists, and fight for better retirement—lump sums for line-of-duty losses, stronger Police Officers Retirement System tweaks. I’ll direct more state funds to recruitment, training, and gear—because understaffed means unsafe streets.

We’ll keep partnering with ICE for safe communities, support E-Verify to protect jobs, and stand against defund nonsense. Our deputies deserve respect, resources, and real backup—not rhetoric.

They protect us. I’ll protect them. Pro-law enforcement. Pro-District 10. Back the blue—every day.
Stewart Watson