Henry E. Brown, Jr.
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Henry Edward Brown Jr. (born December 20, 1935) is an American politician who was the
U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
for from 2001 to 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party. He did not stand for re-election in 2010. The district is based in Charleston and during Brown's tenure in office, took in almost all of the state's share of the Atlantic coastline (except for Beaufort and
Hilton Head Island Hilton Head Island, often referred to as simply Hilton Head, is a Lowcountry resort town and barrier island in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. It is northeast of Savannah, Georgia (as the crow flies), and southwest of Charlesto ...
, which at that time were in the 2nd district).


Early life

Brown was born in
Bishopville, South Carolina Bishopville is a town in Lee County, South Carolina, Lee County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 3,471 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 census. It is the county seat of Lee County. Geography Bishopville is located at (34 ...
. After graduating from Berkeley High School of
Moncks Corner, South Carolina Moncks Corner is a town in and the county seat of Berkeley County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 7,885 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 census. As defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, Moncks Corner is included within the Ch ...
in 1953, Brown attended college at
Charleston Southern University Charleston Southern University (CSU) is a private university in North Charleston, South Carolina, United States. It is affiliated with the South Carolina Baptist Convention (Southern Baptist Convention). History Charleston Southern Universit ...
but did not graduate. He instead entered the IBM Management and Technical School. He then worked for the
Piggly Wiggly Piggly Wiggly is an American supermarket chain operating in the American Southern and Midwestern regions run by Piggly Wiggly, LLC, an affiliate of C&S Wholesale Grocers. Its first outlet opened in 1916 in Memphis, Tennessee, and is notable ...
grocery chain, becoming a vice president. Brown also spent 10 years as a member of the
United States National Guard The National Guard is a U.S. state, state-based military force that becomes part of the United States Armed Forces, U.S. military's reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, reserve components of the United States Army, U.S. Army a ...
.


Political career

Brown was elected to the Hanahan city council in 1981 and was later elected to the
South Carolina House of Representatives The South Carolina House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Carolina General Assembly. It consists of 124 representatives elected to two-year terms at the same time as U.S. congressional elections. Unlike many legislatures, seatin ...
in 1985 as a Republican from Berkeley County. Incumbent Francis Archibald resigned the seat and Brown won handily over opponent Ed Sessions in a June 1985 special election. When the Republicans gained control of the state house in 1994, Brown became chairman of the Ways and Means committee and helped deliver the largest tax cut in state history. He also served as chairman of the state's Joint Tax study Committee and was one of the vocal leaders of a massive 1998 tax proposal. When 1st District Congressman
Mark Sanford Marshall Clement "Mark" Sanford Jr. (born May 28, 1960) is an American politician and author who served as the U.S. representative for South Carolina's 1st congressional district from 1995 to 2001 and from 2013 to 2019, and as the 115th govern ...
decided to honor a pledge to serve no more than six years in the House, Brown ran for the seat, passing out "
Oh Henry Oh Henry! was an American candy bar containing peanuts, caramel, and fudge coated in chocolate, sold in the U.S. until 2019. A slightly different version of it is still manufactured and sold in Canada. The original version is still sold in th ...
" candy bars during the
primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...
as a way to increase his name recognition. He won the runoff with 55% over state Transportation Commissioner Harry "Buck" Limehouse and easily won the general election. The Democrats didn't even field a challenger in 2002 or 2004. In 2006, he won re-election by over 20 points, but surprisingly did not pass the 60% margin in a race against Democratic Randy Maatta and Green candidate Brian Merrill. In the 2008 election, Brown faced Democratic nominee Linda Ketner. The district had been considered unwinnable for a Democrat since the 1990s round of redistricting shifted most of Charleston's black voters to the majority-black 6th District. However, polls from the summer of 2008 onward showed a closer-than-expected race. Ultimately, Brown barely held onto his seat, winning only 52 percent of the vote to Ketner's 48 percent—the closest race in the district in 22 years. Brown lost badly in
Charleston County Charleston County is located in the U.S. state of South Carolina along the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 408,235, making it the List of counties in South Carolina, third-mos ...
largely due to
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
winning it with 54 percent of the vote—only the second time a Democratic presidential candidate has carried the county since 1956. However, Brown crushed Ketner in Berkeley and Dorchester counties, enabling him to secure a fifth term. He was also likely helped by
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...
carrying the district with 56 percent of the vote; aside from
Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...
in 1976, the district had supported a Republican for president in every election since 1956. On January 4, 2010, Brown announced that he would retire from the House and not seek re-election. In June 2023, Brown endorsed
Tim Scott Timothy Eugene Scott (born September 19, 1965) is an American businessman and politician serving since 2013 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from South Carolina. A member of the Re ...
in the
2024 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 5, 2024. The Republican Party (United States), Republican Party's Ticket (election), ticket—Donald Trump, who was the 45th president of ...
.


Forest fire controversy

In 2004, Henry Brown set a controlled burn on his own property, but the fire spread to the neighboring
Francis Marion National Forest The Francis Marion National Forest is located north of Charleston, South Carolina. It is named for revolutionary war hero Francis Marion, who was known to the British as the Swamp Fox. It lies entirely within the Middle Atlantic coastal forests ...
, burning . Although he eventually paid a reduced fine of $4,747 in April 2008, the case cost the government an estimated $100,000 to resolve, and forced the Forest Service to rewrite a criminal code, making it much more difficult to prosecute those who negligently set fire to federal property. Brown commented regarding the affair that, "I was so taken aback that I'd be treated so impersonal — like I was some kind of crook...Those were criminal charges that were filed against me. I felt like I was the victim."


Committee assignments

* United States House Committee on Natural Resources, Committee on Natural Resources ** Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife (Ranking Member) ** Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands * Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure ** Subcommittee on Highways and Transit ** Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials ** Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment * Committee on Veterans' Affairs ** Subcommittee on Health (Chair
Congressman Brown's committee assignments


Electoral history

Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 2000, write-ins received 40 votes. In 2002, write-ins received 57 votes. In 2004, write-ins received 186 votes. In 2006, write-ins received 104 votes. In 2006, Randy Maatta also ran under the Working Families party. In 2008, write-ins received 615 votes.


See also

* United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina, 2008#District 1


References


External links


Henry Brown for Congress
''official campaign site'' *
Profile
at
SourceWatch The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) is a progressive nonprofit watchdog and advocacy organization based in Madison, Wisconsin. CMD publishes ExposedbyCMD.org, SourceWatch.org, and ALECexposed.org. History CMD was founded in 1993 by prog ...
* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Henry 1935 births Living people Charleston Southern University alumni Republican Party members of the South Carolina House of Representatives Baptists from South Carolina South Carolina city council members People from Bishopville, South Carolina People from Moncks Corner, South Carolina Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from South Carolina 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the South Carolina General Assembly