As part of our continuing effort to bring local news that’s impactful to our readers, we’ve proactively reached out to the candidates running for US Senate.
We will not manipulate their answers in any way, we’ll simply provide to you, our readers. This will allow you to make an informed choice.
This week, we’ll introduce Dr. Kasie Whitener
I was born in Florence, South Carolina, raised in Northern Virginia, and returned to South Carolina to attend Clemson University in 1995. After graduating in 1999, I went to Winthrop University for graduate school. I have a PhD in Organization and Management from Capella, with a concentration in global leadership. I have been teaching entrepreneurship at the University of South Carolina since 2017 and have worked in the entrepreneurial ecosystem helping people all over the state build businesses and solve hard problems. I led the South Carolina Writers Association as President for four years and the South Carolina Libertarian Party as State Chair for two. I also co-host a daily radio program on local talk radio, 100.7 The Point.
In 2020, amidst the chaos and failure of government and the ensuing financial recklessness, I decided something needed to be done. With my family, I worked to prepare to run and launched the campaign in March 2025. I chose US Senate because it is a six-year term, providing enough time to really attack the problem of the national debt.
The national debt is the most important issue, it’s the reason everything is so expensive and neither of the two parties will do anything about it. In fact, they’re making it worse. There are three ways to fix the debt: simplify the tax code to capture more revenue, make meaningful reforms in our highest financial liabilities – Social Security and Medicare – to reign in spending, and grow the economy by reducing the regulatory burden in industries like healthcare and energy.
My priorities will be fiscal responsibility: return to an annual budgetary process that starts from zero for every department and requires a 5% cut across all federal agencies until we get our house in order. I will examine all legislation for its impact on South Carolina and only do what is best for our state. I will not follow a specific party or concern myself with the theater of wins and losses along party lines. This is about serving the people, not myself, not a party, and certainly not corporate donors.
I believe in excellent constituent service. In order to serve our state, I will support efforts to remove barriers to entrepreneurship so that the innovators and builders in our state can chart their own paths. I will fight for tax code revisions to help South Carolinians keep more of their own earned money. I will work hard to reign in the federal government so that our state can thrive in our way, meeting our potential and achieving our ambitions.
South Carolina has a unique opportunity on November 3rd. We will elect our first woman Senator and our choices are all new hires, having never been elected before. I believe I am the most competent candidate on the ballot. Earning my PhD made me capable of understanding complex systems like the federal government, with the ability to address the root cause of a problem, and design real solutions. In my experience with entrepreneurship, I have taken on hard challenges and helped business owners achieve success. Moreover, I am not backed by one of the major parties, which means I can put South Carolina first. Always.
Voters can get to know me on weekly live streams (Wednesdays at 7 p.m.) on YouTube @KasieSouthCarolina and through my website blogs at kasiesouthcarolina.com They can also submit comments on blogs and messages through the form. I respond to every message.
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Thomas Hyslip lives in Tega Cay with his wife and daughter. After 27 years in the U.S. Army and Federal Law Enforcement, he retired to pursue his passion for teaching. Tom is now an Associate Professor of Instruction at the University of South Florida. In 2 short years he has won 10 awards from the South Carolina Press Association, including first place in column writing, education beat reporting and best podcast.
