Hugh Weathers

Hugh Weathers

Republican Party

South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture

Tenure

2005 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

19

Compensation

Base salary

$162,000

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 8, 2022

Appointed

September 14, 2004

Education

Bachelor's

University of South Carolina

Contact

Official website

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Personal LinkedIn

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Hugh Weathers (Republican Party) is the South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture. He assumed office in 2005. His current term ends on January 13, 2027.

Weathers (Republican Party) ran for re-election for South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture. He won in the general election on November 8, 2022.

Biography

Email [email protected] to notify us of updates to this biography.

Weathers is a co-owner with brother, Landy Weathers, of Weathers Farms, Inc., a 650-cow dairy operation in Bowman, and Weathers Trucking, Inc., a bulk milk delivery service for over 30 dairies in South Carolina. Weathers is a former Corporate Banking Officer with C&S National Bank. He is also a partner of Circle W Farms, a row crop farming operation in Bowman.

Education

• B.S., in accounting and finance, University of South Carolina

Political career

South Carolina Agriculture Commissioner (2004-present)

Weathers, a Republican, was initially appointed interim commissioner of agriculture in September 2004 and commissioner in January 2005. He won his first full term in 2006 and was re-elected in 2010, 2014, and 2018.

Notable endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

This section displays endorsements this individual made in elections within Ballotpedia's coverage scope.

Notable candidate endorsements by Hugh Weathers

Endorsee	Election	Stage	Outcome
Donald Trump  source  (Conservative Party, R)	President of the United States (2024)	Primary	Won General

Elections

2022

See also: South Carolina Agriculture Commissioner election, 2022

General election

General election for South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture

Incumbent Hugh Weathers defeated David Edmond and Chris Nelums in the general election for South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Hugh Weathers (R)	77.6	1,085,139
		David Edmond (G)	15.2	213,219
		Chris Nelums (United Citizens Party)	6.8	95,625
		Other/Write-in votes	0.3	4,409

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,398,392
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Bill Bledsoe (Constitution Party)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture

Incumbent Hugh Weathers defeated Bill Bledsoe and Bob Rozier Jr. in the Republican primary for South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture on June 14, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Hugh Weathers	59.3	199,424
		Bill Bledsoe	29.0	97,711
		Bob Rozier Jr.	11.7	39,391

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 336,526
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Constitution convention

Constitution convention for South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture

Bill Bledsoe advanced from the Constitution convention for South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture on March 26, 2022.

		Candidate
✔		Bill Bledsoe (Constitution Party)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Green convention

Green convention for South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture

David Edmond advanced from the Green convention for South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture on May 7, 2022.

		Candidate
✔		David Edmond (G)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

United Citizens Party convention

United Citizens Party convention for South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture

Chris Nelums advanced from the United Citizens Party convention for South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture on March 26, 2022.

		Candidate
✔		Chris Nelums (United Citizens Party)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2018

See also: South Carolina Agriculture Commissioner election, 2018

General election

General election for South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture

Incumbent Hugh Weathers defeated David Edmond and Chris Nelums in the general election for South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Hugh Weathers (R)	75.7	1,015,366
		David Edmond (G)	15.1	202,238
		Chris Nelums (United Citizens Party)	8.8	118,671
		Other/Write-in votes	0.4	5,025

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,341,300
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture

Incumbent Hugh Weathers advanced from the Republican primary for South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture on June 12, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		Hugh Weathers

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2010

Weathers won re-election as South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture in the November 2010 election, defeating Democratic candidate Tom E. Elliott.

South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Hugh Weathers Incumbent	60.1%	792,260
	Democratic	Tom E. Elliott	39.8%	525,229
	Write-In	Various	0%	533
Total Votes				1,318,022
Election results via South Carolina Election Commission

2006

On November 7, 2006, Hugh Weathers won re-election to the office of South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture. He defeated Emile DeFelice in the general election.

South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture, 2006
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Hugh Weathers Incumbent	59.7%	635,903
	Democratic	Emile DeFelice	40.3%	429,255
	Write-In	Various	0%	319
Total Votes				1,065,477
Election results via South Carolina State Election Commission.

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Hugh Weathers did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign finance summary

---

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Hugh Weathers campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2022	South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture	Won general	$323,700	$333,828
2014	SC Agriculture Commissioner	Won	$418,276	N/A**
2010	SC Agriculture Commissioner	Won	$291,987	N/A**
2006	SC Agriculture Commissioner	Won	$534,304	N/A**
Grand total			$1,568,267	$333,828
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Stances on the issues

Agriculture commissioners are responsible for overseeing and regulating practices and policies that affect farmers, consumers of agricultural products, and the broader agricultural industry in their states. Their powers can vary, but they typically have the authority to enforce state laws and regulations pertaining to agriculture and investigate practices related to the agricultural sector that may violate state laws or regulations.

This section outlines Weathers' stances on policy issues as they relate to agriculture.

Environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG)

See also: Environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG)

Weathers has argued against ESG, which refers to an investment or corporate governance approach that involves considering the extent to which corporations conform to certain standards related to environmental, social, and corporate governance issues (such as net carbon emission or corporate board diversity goals) and making business and investment decisions that promote those standards. Agricultural commissioners have the authority to use their investigative and enforcement powers to scrutinize the effects of financial practices on the agricultural sector, write letters to financial institutions requesting information on their policies and practices, and issue regulations related to fertilizer usage, agricultural fuel usage, and rural electrification.

Letter opposing ESG practices at financial institutions

Weathers joined eleven agricultural commissioners from other states on January 29, 2024, in writing a public letter to the CEOs of six large banks, including J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs, opposing their ESG commitments.

The letter argued that the financial institutions’ commitments to implementing Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) policies could restrict credit access for farmers and coerce agricultural producers into changing their farming practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The officials said such changes would increase costs in the agricultural sector, reduce the availability of food, drive up consumer prices, and eliminate jobs in the industry.

The letter requested additional information related to the banks’ ESG commitments, including details on how the banks intended to promote NZBA’s carbon emissions targets for the agricultural sector.

See also

2022 Elections

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by -	South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture 2005-Present	Succeeded by -