Facing defeat, James Smith’s rival quits race for Richland state judge’s post
Longtime Columbia lawyer and former Afghanistan War combat soldier James Smith is now the only candidate left in the race for a Richland County-based state judgeship.
Smith’s rival, Justin Williams, notified the Judicial Merit Selection Commission on Tuesday, Jan. 23, that he is dropping out. Later Tuesday, the commission sent out emails confirming the withdrawal.
Smith, 56, will now be the lone candidate to go before the approximately 170 state lawmakers in a Feb. 7 joint confirmation election for his and other judges’ posts. In South Carolina, the Legislature elects state trial and appellate judges.
The reason Williams withdrew is that Smith gathered so many “pledges” of support that Williams knew he would lose the vote in the Legislature,said state Rep. Todd Rutherford, D-Richland, a Smith supporter.
“It’s clear that James has solid commitments,” Rutherford said. “If the commitments weren’t solid, Justin would not have dropped out.”
It is common practice in a state judge’s race for a candidate facing sure defeat to drop out rather than stay in the race and lose in a public contest.
Although Smith is now the only candidate left standing, that does not translate into a sure victory.
To win a judge’s seat, a candidate needs a majority of those present and voting, said Rutherford, a member of the Judicial Merit Selection Commission, a screening body which examines the qualifications of judicial candidates and forwards the names of those candidates the commission deems qualified to the Legislature for a vote..
And some Republicans are now trying to make sure that Smith does not get a majority on Feb. 7.
For example, Congressman U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, R-SC, posted Tuesday on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Smith is “Pro abortion, Pro Biden agenda, Pro big government, Pro BLM!!” and indicated Republicans should not vote for him.
Smith, a 22-year former House member, is a Democrat who ran for governor in 2018 against Gov. Henry McMaster and lost. The Legislature is majority Republican in both chambers.
Rutherford called Norman’s intervention as a Congressman into a state legislative race “absurd” but added that, “Everyone is free to have their opinion.”
State Sen. Darrell Jackson, D-Richland, said he supports Smith. “Here’s a guy who risked his life on the battlefield for this country. One of the reasons James has enjoyed such bipartisan support is that people know he is a great patriot and somebody who will do right as it relates to the issues that are important for this state.”
The Smith-Williams contest had divided lawmakers along race and party lines. Although some Black lawmakers said they believed Smith was qualified, they also said that they were voting for Williams because it was important to get more Black judges on the state’s trial bench. Of 49 state judges, only a handful are Black.
Williams could not be reached for comment. Smith declined comment.
