Why Brian, Letters from the voters!

12 Reasons to elect Brian

On February 22nd, the voters of District 16 have a real chance to elect a true conservative to the S.C. Senate. Today, I am writing to tell you a few reasons why
We need to support Brian Carnes in the Republican primary.

• Brian will work to restructure our state government
• Brian will work to reform our broken state tax code
• Brian will reform our education system
• Brian a successful businessman will work to bring jobs back to South Carolina, He has the experience to do so
• Brian will not cater to special interest or lobbyist
• Brian will work for senior citizens and make sure they keep what they have earned and make sure their healthcare is affordable
• Brian will protect personal property and personal freedoms
• Brian will make sure our veterans get a fair shake in S.C
• Brian is a fiscal, social conservative that is running on a platform of reform
• Brian will push for real welfare reform, he will not let everything be given away for free
• Brian will continue to strengthen our immigration laws
• Brian will be our voice serving all the people in District 16 not a puppet for any one party or organization.

For these 12 reasons I am asking you to consider voting for Brian, We do not need legislators or political parties telling the voters how to vote. I think we are plenty aware of the situation with our economy, loss of jobs & homes to know we can make an educated decision on who we need to elect as our State Senator.

Brian is the most conservative candidate in this race and has taken positions on all these issues I have mentioned above, the other candidates in this race have just used typical talking points. That is why I ask you to do some research on each candidate, they all have web sites. I believe after you see where each candidate stands I believe you will see that Brian is the best candidate for the S.C. Senate

Mike Hanson
Fort Mill, SC

Brian for SC Senate

I am so happy that Brian Carnes is running for the South Carolina Senate seat in District 16. It is time to get a new face in Columbia! We need someone that will actually care about the people they serve and I truly believe that Brian is that person.
Brian is a person of integrity, a team player, and a person with a strong and proven work ethic. He has been representing the people in District 16 very well already; serving as a School board member for 8 years, as a local firefighter and as a local small business owner. There are countless examples of his years of service to his Church, community, and district. He has lived in District 16 for all of his 51 years and has a servant’s heart.

We need a NEW Senator who has no personal agendas but that to serve the citizens of the district. Brian believes that elected officials must be accountable to the people they serve. Brian is a fiscal–social conservative, who will be a servant to the people he serves. He is not your everyday politician like some who have served before or some that serve for personal gains. We must have a Senator that will be accountable to those who they serve!

Brian has great leadership skills, this along with his ability to communicate and work with others in a leadership role, has prepared him to make a difference in the South Carolina Senate.

I know I am voting for Brian Carnes for South Carolina Senate on February 22nd 2011. I really hope that you will join me and do the same! We need a Senator that we can trust to work for all of us and I know that Brian is that person!


Kathryn Burch
Indian Land, SC

We Need Brian committed servant

I’m writing this letter to ask for votes for Brian Carnes for the District 16 Senate race. We need a Senator who has no personal agenda. Senator who has a passion to serve the people of South Carolina, District 16. Brian Carnes is a committed public servant and has a strong, proven, work ethic. He served on the local school board for more than eight years. He is a strong leader in the community, a lifetime resident of Senate District 16, a former firefighter, and respected businessman. Brian Carnes knows how to keep an open mind to all sides of an issue and cannot be influenced to vote one way or another.

He is a man you can trust to make decisions that will benefit all people. His votes will be for what he truly believes will be good for the people. It is time for new leadership in Columbia. It is time to send someone who can create jobs, restructure our tax code, and eliminate government waste so we can focus on our children’s education. I encourage you to vote for Brian Carnes on February 22.

Lorrie Morris

Tom Audette of Fort Mill , speaks about why he supports Brian Carnes!

Tom Audette of Fort Mill explains in his own words why he feels that Brian is the best choice for S.C. Senate. It is reasons that Tom talks about voters need to be aware of the issues at hand! Thanks for taking a look!

Carnes takes position on Landfill.

For Immediate Release
January 27, 2011

State Senate Candidate Brian Carnes takes position on landfill

Brian Carnes, candidate for Senate District 16,would like to express his opposition to the Waste Management/Griffin Brothers landfill in the Kershaw area and his support to the Lancaster County Action Council. As an advocate of Transparency and Open Government, Brian feels that the processes that lead to the decision to allow for the change of this landfill from its original intent to a landfill handling household waste was flawed and not transparent to the citizens of Lancaster County.

Having been involved in the fight against Mecklenburg County in the early 80’s opposing their plans to locate a landfill on the border in the Indian Land community, Brian knows firsthand that being united as a community can make a difference. While this landfill was eventually permitted and opened in 2000, it was delayed for many years. The groups that opposed it were able to get many concessions from Mecklenburg County in its design and operation. If elected, Brian will work to make the process for permitting landfills open to the public, so that the public is able to have input during all phases of the process.

We need to make sure that the property rights of the neighboring landowners are protected and that we have well thought out plans that cover all aspects of the process. The concerns that have been expressed need to be thoroughly investigated and to make sure that the decisions made are based on sound research and information. I would urge the Zoning Appeals Board to listen to the concerns expressed regarding this matter and to slow this process down so that everyone is allowed to give input in order to allow for an informed decision.

Voter ID bill on the floor for debate TODAY!

Today, Wednesday, January 26th, the SC House Republican Caucus’s Voter ID bill will be on the floor for debate at 1pm.

Rigorous, lengthy debate from Dems on the floor is expected and your Republicans in the House are committed as ever to passing the bill. Most importantly, the debate on the floor today will be indicative of what to expect from the opposition after the bill passes the House. Please pass this information along as it is the first of many important debates to come this session.

Watch the VOTER ID DEBATE online here.

Follow the debate on Facebook using Speaker Harrell's Facebook Page and The SC House Republican Caucus's Facebook Page.

Also, the debate can be followed online via multiple twitter accounts/lists:

The SC House GOP Caucus Members List (updates from entire caucus)

The SC House GOP Twitter Feed

Speaker Harrell's Twitter Feed

Representative Clemmons Twitter Feed

Jason Zacher, SC House Republican Caucus's Communications Director on Twitter

Of course, all of these outlets are the best ways to get immediate updates on the latest coming from the statehouse. I hope that you’ll utilize these tools as important legislation is being ushered into law, and please pass these along to your fellow Republicans.

We hope you’ll tune into the debate via video or social media tomorrow

Brian Thanks supporters and volunteers

Brian just wanted to take the time to thank volunteers for helping out with calls and getting the word out as we move closer to February 22nd and election day.

Carnes video update after speaking to firefighters

Brian gives and update after leaving Fire Department in Lancaster County



You can see where he stands on some of these issues by clicking here

Brian believes South Carolina must provide strong and prepared law enforcement to the citizens of our state to ensure we are safe in our homes and neighborhoods. We must provide the proper resources to the Sheriffs, City, County, and State Police Departments. These men and woman are performing a selfless act.

Our Firefighters, EMT’s and Teachers should be paid a fair sum for the duty they perform. Most of these services, have \tough jobs and deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. Without all of these services our citizens would not not wake up every morning feeling safe and secure in most of their homes. They put it on the line everyday.

Lastly, we need to provide our District Attorneys the proper tools to keep our streets safe and give them the necessary funds to prosecute those who commit crimes and then make sure we provide adequate space to incarcerate criminals. We owe it to the people of this great state to protect them, especially when they are paying for these services with their hard earned tax dollars.

Funding for K-12 Education to be reformed? Brian knows Education will be a top issue once again in this race

Funding for K-12 Education to be reformed?

With Education being one of the top issues we face during each election cycle I thought it would be good to update the people of District 16 about reforming education and it’s funding.

State Senator Wes Hayes during the fall of 2010 chaired the select Committee on K-12 education funding. “One of my focuses as a candidate for District 16 and education was to track the money coming into our district for our schools; so we thought it would be good to let everyone know what they are doing for us in Columbia”.

They met to consider changing the ways K-12 funding is distributed, their goal was to develop a revenue- neutral funding distribution method that would increase for impoverished students, students with limited English proficiency, students in the gifted and talented, students who do no meet state standards and also one that would recognize needs to fund basic operational and fixed costs.

This committee focused on the following issues in proposing these objectives and they are as followed

1.) Flexibility & Transparency-, Which would expand funds from a designated revenue source and require an online check registry to address transparency.
2.) Deregulation – Which would require the State Board of Education to develop regulations establishing a process for districts to apply for deregulation
3.) 4K- make available statewide for certain at-risk children based on poverty levels
4.) Teacher pay- Update the statewide minimum salary schedule by resetting the index to the fiscal year 2009 level and require the Board of Education to develop regulations creating a model for a optional teacher incentive compensation program
5.) District Consolidation incentives-, which provide temporary funding to address funding gaps, during a consolidation transition period.
6.) SC Charter School District- Address additional funding requests, distinguish between brick and mortar and virtual schools
7.) Replace the Education Finance Act- with a simpler system where the money follows the child.

I have been very passionate about education and this is one reason I served on the school board, I think I can still contribute, but on broader scale. This is why, I decided to run believe we must track every penny leaving Columbia that goes into our public education system.

We like to thank our Volunteer of the week Steven Coley

We like to take a minute to thank Steven Coley for joining our team and helping out the Carnes for Senate campaign. Steven is another Fort Mill resident who has volunteered his time for our team and has been working heavily in the Regent Park, Fort Mill area for us. As many of us know there are 5 candidates in this race so it is crucial that we get to all areas of the district. He and his wife will be heading up some phone banks in the next couple of weeks getting voters to turn out on election day and will also be working door to door talking with voters about why Brian is the best candidate for S. C. Senate

We appreciate all of our volunteers whether they are able to volunteer for one hour or every day of the week, but we did wanted our special thanks to go out to Steven this week for his dedication to our campaign.

Thank you

Brian on Protecting Property Rights

Brian believes we need to protect property rights for citizens in South Carolina. He is totally against any type of land grabs deals that are similar to what happened in the Kelo v. City of New London decision in Connecticut. He believes this is a major threat to the people of South Carolina and takes away from our personal freedoms. He believes we must in fact strengthen our state’s eminent domain laws, he believes we must appoint strict judges who respect the Constitution and will protect the people of our great state. Families should be able to provide the best for their families without the government taking it away from them.

Carnes- Reform, Jobs and Regulation

When will South Carolina Legislators wake up and realize we need to work in a bipartisan manner for the people of South Carolina? As we all know the majority of jobs are created by the private sector and we need to as a legislative body learn to work and find ways to help the private sector create more jobs here in South Carolina. Times are hard and people are struggling to retain jobs, keep their homes and provide what is needed for their families.

We must listen to business owners, farmers, families and even local governments to find out what we can do to help those in need build, we must build a plan and get to work on it right away. There is no reason job creation can’t be dealt with immediately.

Brian believes we must also have business –regulation reform. South Carolina is not a business friendly state, free enterprise is being challenged. If we do not change business as usual in South Carolina, we will ultimately fail. Eventually the voters will have their say and it should not come down to drastic measures before something is accomplished in South Carolina legislators need to listen to their constituents.

Carnes-SC will face redistricting after a population increase of 15% after recent 2010 Census

As we know every ten years we go through reapportionment. This process takes place after a census is completed. After doing the census in 2010, it has been determined that our growth in South Carolina has increased by 15.3 % to 4.6 million residents.

What does that mean for South Carolina? Well for starts it will mean South Carolina will gain one Congressional seat in 2012 bringing the total to seven. This also means South Carolina will see district lines re -drawn to handle this growth and balance out the districts so it is more fair and balanced when it comes to representation.

This redistricting will affect House and Senate seats as well, so it may be a very different look in 2012. This will make things look a lot different for many of us in 2012.

Redistricting will take place in the general assembly during this years session and then this will go to The Justice department for a final review to make sure that it in compliance with the Voting rights act of 1965

Brian says we need reform!

Help me focus on change and reform, South Carolina taxpayers should be able to keep more of their hard earned money. Many think the Fairtax is about taxes alone but it's not. The Fairtax is about much more, it is about creating jobs, its about personal freedoms and mostly it keeps the government out of our personal lives., We can fix a broken tax code in SC and the Fairtax is one option, Washington will not help!

Jobs back to SC

Brian has what it takes to bring back jobs to South Carolina. As a business owner of two businesses, resident of District 16 for 51 yrs, he has a proven track record of creating jobs. With his leadership in Columbia we have a chance of keeping new businesses here instead of running them out of our state. He will work to create incentives that work and stop overregulation of businesses that have hurt South Carolina

Brian believes our Children's future is the key to OUR success

"Upon the subject of education, not presuming to dictate any plan or system respecting it, I can only say that I view it as the most important subject which we as a people can be engaged in".
Abraham Lincoln —March 9, 1832"


Brian is the most experienced candidate, when it comes to Education. He served on the Lancaster School Board from 1998-2006. He believes In our schools and has been a strong advocate for public education.

Our Schools In District 16 have great parental involvement and educators who are dedicated to the cause.

We must as elected officials put the Children first and leave politics out of it because our future lies in their future. We must make sure that we get every child through their senior year. We must track every penny that comes out of Columbia to our school Districts, because funding is not the problem making sure the money reaches the district is. I am focused on getting South Carolina Schools out of the Cellar and into the national spotlight.


He has a plan to improve our education we like to leave you his seven point plan to take a look at, this is what he wants to engage in when it comes to education......







Brian’s 7 Point Education Plan

* Reform our Education System to make Efficient
* Track all money coming in from Columbia
* Repeal Act 388 and find more reliable funding
* Cut Administration cost give more to Educators
* Focus on Tech and Trade schools
* Make our schools work for each child
* Make in State Tuition rates affordable

Education in South Carolina is about Reform, lets start with the basics and get back on track then look at innovative ways to make things better, Our children deserve it and should not be a political issue for Educators, Politicians or Lobbyist Organizations.

- Kids First -

Impact voters make! Carnes for Senate encourages that impact!

South Carolinian’s and the people of Senate District 16 can have a real impact in the direction of our State. You can have a voice in the type of leadership you want. Your voice can put in someone with strong character & moral integrity. Not to mention your voice can change the democratic process. Brian Carnes needs you support to help make that change in South Carolina

Many voters when going to the polls sometimes forget to vote for their beliefs .Nearly 2/3 of Americans do not vote for their beliefs, and this is disheartening. We need to vote our conscious based out of respect, honor and integrity.

We as Conservatives believe value voters are very the key to our states success. We must stand up for what is right, defending human life, traditional marriage, property rights, defending our country against from foreign invaders, accountability to the taxpayers, courage, civility and dutyto our job. But First we need you to get out and vote ,millions of people in this world, want this privilege but do not have these basic human rights.

Brian Carnes, a lifelong South Carolinian and local business owner. He is the founder and Carolina Innovations located in Rock Hill where he knows what it's like to meet a payroll and deal with healthcare costs. ”Carnes, led by a passion for his home state of South Carolina and knack for leadership, says it’s time to take his community involvement a step further in order to make a difference. He believes that family values matter and that we must leave them with a bright future and one that they can grow upon.

VOTE FEBRUARY 22nd , REPUBLICAN PRIMARY SPECIAL ELECTION

Learn more about Brian and how we can reform S.C. by visiting www.Carnes4senate.com

Brian on senior Issues! They matter to S.C.

Unlike many South Carolinians, our Senior citizens are not single-issue voters. Senior citizens tend to vote for candidate's that they think are more rounded and are knowledgeable on a variety of issues. They vote on a candidate’s experience, the direction of our state, the economy, health care, retirement and Medicare issues. They research the issues and they are eager to participate in the voting process because they understand the unique privilege we have in our country to vote freely without intimidation.

Today, many of our seniors are worried about the rising healthcare cost that threaten the Medicare program. This increase in healthcare cost has contributed to the economic problems here in South Carolina and nationally. Many seniors are struggling daily deciding whether to eat or to take medication. As you next state senator, I believe we need to make it more manageable for seniors to afford the necessities that they have worked so hard for all of their lives, to help them enjoy a comfortable retirement that they have saved and prepared for. My question is who will protect the seniors if we do not?

Brian Carnes believes we need health care and Medicare reforms to reduce health care costs for our seniors, not reform that will rob them of their benefits in order to pay for a bigger government bureaucracy. We need to make sure that we offer the highest quality health care at the lowest price for our seniors. They deserve it and they don't deserve a Washington bureaucracy determining what their medical treatment should be.

I am thankful for the work that former Lt. Governor Andre Bauer did with the Department of aging. His work there provided resources we have never had before in South Carolina, but there is still much work to do. His work with this department provided vital healthcare, exercise and nutrition services and connected hundreds of seniors to needed healthcare services. We should be appreciative of his efforts in the fight for seniors.

For me one issue, I would like to tackle, as your next Senator would be to make sure all of our senior citizens are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve. Many of our seniors fall victim to con artist who are looking to make a quick buck off of those who have saved and sacrificed for many years. This problem has increased in recent years and I will work with our newly elected Attorney General Wilson to find ways to discourage these con artist from taking advantage of our seniors. We need to toughen the laws that deal with these scams and to continue to educate our seniors on how to avoid these traps.

My job as a legislator is to serve the people young and old, I hope that we can make tremendous strides when it comes to senior issues in South Carolina, but I cannot do it without your help! I am asking if there are issues that I can approach head on in Columbia, please let me know and I will do what I can to help you and your family. Our seniors are a valuable resource that we need to utilize in order to make our state better. The knowledge, work ethic, common sense and dedication that our seniors offer to us is a precious asset that we need to treasure and use wisely!

Carnes Campaign Like to Thanks Tom Audette, Our First Volunteer of the Week

We would like to take the time to thank our first volunteer of the week, Tom Audette from Fort Mill. Tom’s motivation for volunteering with the campaign is quite easy to explain. He sees the purpose of having a quality, experienced candidate going to Columbia that will fight for the values he and his family share.

Tom believes in many of the same things that Brian does, He believes the job situation needs to be addressed and that we must restructure our state tax code, which is absolutely crushing many local small businesses and hurting middle class families. He see’s the value and importance in this race.

Campaigns are won and lost by people like Tom, He is out working his area in Fort Mill asking people to consider Brian as their next State Senator, he is getting signs out within the district and will begin working neighborhoods one door at a time for us as well. He has been a trusted advisor to the campaign and we are glad to have him on board.

In closing we would like to thank Tom for his hard work and dedication, we appreciate all the time and energy you put in for our cause!

Just A Little Fun in the Snow

Make Sure you get out and vote for Brian Carnes on February 22nd, 2011. In the Republican Primary, This special election is to fill the seat that now Congressman Mick Mulvaney held until he went to Washington. We need a strong Conservative voice representing District 16.



Enjoy the snow why it last!

Learn more by visiting Brian's campaign website by click here

Carnes Speaks to Republican Leadership in District

Carnes officially announces for S.C. Senate Senate

Calling for job creation, tax reform and education reform, Indian Land resident Brian Carnes officially announced today his candidacy for South Carolina Senate District 16 seat.

Mr. Carnes already joins a crowded field in the 16Th district, which includes parts of York County, Indian Land, and Lancaster County. As of today there are four Republican candidates with the winner facing a Democrat and Libertarian in the general election.

"Brian believes if we work hard together we can create jobs, improve our education system and finally restructure South Carolina's broken tax code."

As he spoke, he was surrounded by friends and family who supported his candidacy and where truly excited about what Brian can bring to the table for the citizens of District 16. If elected, Brian knows that South Carolina needs some type of tax-reform and he would support the Fair Tax bill if it gets through the Statehouse this year. Something has to be done immediately to save taxpayers money in South Carolina.

During his six minute speech Brian spoke about issues that echo the feelings of many voters in District 16. In addition to jobs, taxes and education, Brian calls for transparency in our government, stop wasteful spending and find ways to reform health-care for seniors in South Carolina so they do not have to decide whether to eat or take medication. We are facing difficult times and we need to get the government working for the people again.

The question has been asked over and over again to Brian how do we do this? Public service is about representing the people and their needs, He is not a career politician, he is a businessman who cares about his state and the people who live here and all he can do is go to Columbia and do as the people ask and that is fight for reform, less government and do what we were sent here to do and that is to serve the people of South Carolina.

Below you will see text from his Speech, please read over it and see some of the ideas Brian has as your next Senator.

Good Morning! I would like to thank everyone for taking the time to be here. I would like to thank my family for their support and encouragement to me as I have prayed and thought about running for the State Senate seat. To my advisers and to my many friends that counseled me and encouraged me to run, I say thank you.

Today starts a new phase, I move from the decision phase to the action phase, as I fill to run today I am putting my faith and trust in the good people of Senate District 16 that we can agree on the issues that face us locally, as a state and as a nation. This past November a message rang loud and clear, we are tired of politics as usual and the empty promises of the past.

Today we start that journey together to continue that change. We need new ideas and new leadership in Columbia. We need someone that is willing to take a stand on the issues that are important to the people of District 16. I want to be that person. As I stand before you, I promise that I will represent you with honesty and integrity and that I will work my hardest to represent all of the people of this district.

As a resident of Indian Land and a small business owner in Rock Hill, I believe that I am uniquely qualified to represent all parts of this district. We face many challenges in our district - high levels of unemployment, under employment, businesses struggling to survive and people losing their homes.

Our situation while similar to other areas in our state; is also different because of our border location. We need to make sure that as we recruit new businesses to our area that the jobs created are not just transfers across the border. The jobs created need to be for our residents. We need to insure that those who are seeking jobs are getting the training, support and guidance needed to be able to be eligible for these jobs. Those responsible for this training need to help all the way through the process, from identifying the needed training by working with businesses to find out their needs, to providing that training and finally working to insure that people actually get the available jobs.

Many of you have heard the old saying “That we have reached a cross roads”, I would say to you today that we have not reached a cross roads, but we have reached a dead end. What I mean by that is that we have taken so many wrong turns and made so many detours that we need to turn around and change course. We need reform in our state in the form of government transparency and accountability on all levels. We need to control spending, to make our government more reliable and accountable to our citizens. We need to streamline agencies and combine departments to reduce duplications of services and administration.

We need true tax reform, not just changes to our existing structure. We need to be bold and to start over with new ideas that will provide tax relief to our citizens and will encourage a business friendly tax structure and environment in our state in order to attract new companies, to support our existing businesses and to encourage our small business owners to expand and grow their businesses and to continue to be the economic growth machine for our state. Economic development is not only about growing our business community; it is about providing a better quality of life for our citizens. I want to make sure that our area is getting the help and attention that it deserves and needs from Columbia to attract new businesses and to grow our existing businesses.

We also need to be utilizing the talents and gifts of our senior community. We are blessed in this area to have a vibrant, active and growing senior community. I want to make sure that we provide opportunities for them to connect in our community, to engage them in sharing their wisdom and knowledge in order to support our schools, our community and our state. We also need to make sure that we are caring for those seniors who are less active and vulnerable to make sure that they are not taken advantage of by scam artists and con men who prey on their trusting nature. As your next state senator I will work to stiffen the laws that protect our senior citizens and to provide opportunities for them to connect and serve.

As a former school board member, I cannot forget about our schools. We need to make sure that we put our focus on our children and that the monies we spend on education get to the classroom and to our students. We need to re-evaluate our education system and put an emphasis on providing a quality education for every child. We need to remove regulations and paperwork that keep our teachers form teaching. We need to develop a system of fair and honest evaluations that reward great teachers and that help’s us to identify those that need to be replaced.

I look forward to running a clean, honest and issued based campaign. I want to be your Senator and to serve this district proudly. Thank you for your support and I look forward to the opportunities for service that being your next State Senator provides. May God bless and guide me through this campaign and may I be deemed worthy of the voters support. And in closing, again let me say thank you to my family for their support in allowing me to seek privilege of serving this district!

Brian Carnes files for District 16 Senate Seat

Today, Brian Carnes met with Lancaster Republican Chairman Winston Smith to file his paperwork and pay the filing fee to officially become a candidate for SC Senate 16.

This was an exciting moment for Brian and his family, because Brian feels that the best way to give back to a community that has given him so much is by representing them and their needs in Columbia as their next State Senator. As your next Senator Brian will work to reform our states broken tax code, reform education, find a way to get the people back to work here in South Carolina and a host of other important issues.

With him taking this step and filing this needed paper work, Brian states that the race for him has just begun and he is excited about the people he will meet while campaigning. He will be listening to their concerns and will try to come up with solutions that will help the people in District 16. Brian at the same time is humbled by the support he has gotten from family, friends and people in the community. We all know that running for office is not an easy decision; it takes dedication and the support of a family. Today we can say we saw that Brian has that support.

Brian says that my team and I are ready to go to work and we are focused on spreading a positive message. A message based on reform and transparency. We must get our house in order when it comes to Columbia and he is looking forward to representing you and your family’s needs as your next State Senator!

Carnes 4 Senate

Brian Carnes Speaks to Firefighters about his candidacy

We like to thank the Firefighters at Flint Hill in Fort Mill for allowing us to come in and speak abot why Brian would be a good representative for them in Columbia!

Brian Carnes meets with Firefighters in Fort Mill

Tonight, Brian got a chance to speak with local volunteer firefighters at the Flint Hill fire department. He spoke about how he would go to Columbia and represent their needs. Brian believes that each fire department should have the proper resources and equipment to do their job. Brian believes the number one priority for these brave men and woman is to make sure that they go home each night to their families after laying it on the line for us each and every day.



We can do that by making sure they have the proper resources and equipment. They perform selfless acts of kindness each and every day. He believes his campaign is a reflection on the candidate. He also spoke to firefighters about the need for jobs in our district, although these men and woman are volunteers it does not help them put food on the table for their families. Many of these firefighters face the same problems as everyone else does in our district and that is a loss of a job.

During these uncertain economic times all I can do is promise I will go to Columbia and work to improve this situation. Jobs, cutting wasteful spending and a new tax structure is about the only thing we can do at this point to turn the economy around. Brian has faith in this great state, that with a little bit of hard work and honest leadership South Carolina can rebuild and be a model state of reform.

Brian Carnes talks about Senior Issues

Unlike many South Carolinians, our Senior citizens are not single-issue voters. Senior citizens tend to vote for candidate's that they think are more rounded and are knowledgeable on a variety of issues. They vote on a candidate’s experience, the direction of our state, the economy, health care, retirement and Medicare issues. They research the issues and they are eager to participate in the voting process because they understand the unique privilege we have in our country to vote freely without intimidation.

Today, many of our seniors are worried about the rising healthcare cost that threaten the Medicare program. This increase in healthcare cost has contributed to the economic problems here in South Carolina and nationally. Many seniors are struggling daily deciding whether to eat or to take medication. As you next state senator, I believe we need to make it more manageable for seniors to afford the necessities that they have worked so hard for all of their lives, to help them enjoy a comfortable retirement that they have saved and prepared for. My question is who will protect the seniors if we do not?

Brian Carnes believes we need health care and Medicare reforms to reduce health care costs for our seniors, not reform that will rob them of their benefits in order to pay for a bigger government bureaucracy. We need to make sure that we offer the highest quality health care at the lowest price for our seniors. They deserve it and they don't deserve a Washington bureaucracy determining what their medical treatment should be.

I am thankful for the work that former Lt. Governor Andre Bauer did with the Department of aging. His work there provided resources we have never had before in South Carolina, but there is still much work to do. His work with this department provided vital healthcare, exercise and nutrition services and connected hundreds of seniors to needed healthcare services. We should be appreciative of his efforts in the fight for seniors.

For me one issue, I would like to tackle, as your next Senator would be to make sure all of our senior citizens are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve. Many of our seniors fall victim to con artist who are looking to make a quick buck off of those who have saved and sacrificed for many years. This problem has increased in recent years and I will work with our newly elected Attorney General Wilson to find ways to discourage these con artist from taking advantage of our seniors. We need to toughen the laws that deal with these scams and to continue to educate our seniors on how to avoid these traps.

My job as a legislator is to serve the people young and old, I hope that we can make tremendous strides when it comes to senior issues in South Carolina, but I cannot do it without your help! I am asking if there are issues that I can approach head on in Columbia, please let me know and I will do what I can to help you and your family. Our seniors are a valuable resource that we need to utilize in order to make our state better. The knowledge, work ethic, common sense and dedication that our seniors offer to us is a precious asset that we need to treasure and use wisely!