James Albert Lander (April 9, 1930 – October 29, 2020) was an American politician. He sat on the

South Carolina Senate The South Carolina State Senate is the upper house of the South Carolina General Assembly, the lower house being the South Carolina House of Representatives. It consists of 46 senators elected from single member districts for four-year terms at ...

between 1993 and 1999, then became

Comptroller General of South Carolina The comptroller general of South Carolina is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the U.S. state of South Carolina. Forty individuals have held the office of comptroller general since 1800. The office has been held by Brian J. Ga ...

until 2003.

Early life and military career

Lander was from

Abbeville, South Carolina Abbeville is a city and county seat of Abbeville County, in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is located west of Columbia and south of Greenville. Its population was 5,237 at the 2010 census. Settled by French Huguenot settlers, it was n ...

. He served on the Abbeville

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

in 1952 and was a member of the class of 1953 at

Erskine College Erskine College is a private Christian college in Due West, South Carolina, United States. It is an undergraduate liberal arts college and a graduate theological seminary. The college was founded in 1839 by the Associate Reformed Presbyteri ...

. Lander left Erskine without graduating to serve in the

South Carolina Army National Guard The South Carolina Army National Guard is a component of the United States Army and the United States National Guard. Nationwide, the Army National Guard comprises approximately one half of the U.S. Army's available combat forces and approximat ...

(SCANG). Lander was on active duty from 1966 through 1971, and served tours of duty in Korea and Vietnam. He became

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

of the SCANG, retiring in 1985. In 1986, Lander completed his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

at Lander College, which was named for his great-grandfather. He then joined the

South Carolina State Guard The South Carolina State Guard (SCSG) is the designated State Defense Force, state defense force for the state of South Carolina. The State Guard maintains its headquarters in Columbia, South Carolina, Columbia. Battalions are located in the cit ...

and retired as a major general in 1991. During his military career, Lander received the

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious a ...

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

Meritorious Service Medal A Meritorious Service Medal is an award presented to denote acts of meritorious service, and sometimes gallantry, that are worthy of recognition. Notable medals with similar names include: Singapore *Pingat Jasa Gemilang, or Meritorious Services Me ...

Army Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issu ...

, and the

Order of the Palmetto The Order of the Palmetto is the highest civilian honor awarded by the governor of South Carolina. It is awarded to South Carolinians who demonstrate extraordinary lifetime achievement, service and contributions of national or statewide significan ...

Political career

Lander ran for the 40th district seat in 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 1988, challenging

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...

Dave Waldrop Jr. in the Democratic Party

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 ...

. He lost the election to Waldrop. Lander challenged Waldrop again in 1990, and lost again. After Thomas H. Pope announced he would not seek reelection for the District 18 seat in the

in the 1992 elections, Lander declared his candidacy to succeed him. Lander won the election. He was reelected in 1996. In 1998, Lander ran for

, as the incumbent, Earle Morris Jr., opted to retire. He won the election, defeating

John Courson John E. Courson (born November 21, 1944) is an American former politician. He served as a Republican member of the South Carolina Senate, representing the 20th District from 1985 to 2018. He resigned after pleading guilty to a common law miscond ...

. He lost reelection in 2002 to

Richard Eckstrom Richard A. Eckstrom (born June 23, 1948) is an American politician from the state of South Carolina. A Republican, he served as the comptroller general of South Carolina from 2003 until his resignation in 2023. From 1995 to 1999, he served one ...

. The next year, Lander ran in the

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

for the state senate seat for the 18th district vacated by

André Bauer Rudolph Andreas "André" Bauer (born March 20, 1969) is an American businessman and politician who was the 87th Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina from 2003 to 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party. Bauer was a member of the South Car ...

, who resigned after being elected

Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina The lieutenant governor of South Carolina is the second-in-command to the governor of South Carolina. Beyond the responsibility to act or serve as governor in the event of the office's vacancy, the duties of the lieutenant governor are chiefly ce ...

. He won the Democratic nomination, but lost to Republican

Ronnie Cromer Ronnie W. Cromer (born December 1, 1947) is an American politician. He has represented South Carolina Senate District 18 ( Lexington, Newberry, and Union counties) since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party. Political career Prosp ...

Personal life

Lander and his wife, Jolene, married on June 8, 1952. They have seven children and lived in

Newberry, South Carolina Newberry is a city in Newberry County, South Carolina, United States, in the Piedmont northwest of Columbia. The charter was adopted in 1894. The population was 10,277 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Newberry County; at one time ...

. He died on October 29, 2020, in Newberry at age 90.

References

External links

Comptroller General of South Carolina – biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lander, Jim 1930 births 2020 deaths People from Abbeville, South Carolina South Carolina National Guard personnel Erskine College alumni Lander University alumni Democratic Party South Carolina state senators South Carolina comptrollers general South Carolina city council members 20th-century members of the South Carolina General Assembly