Ken Richardson is a lifelong resident of Horry County. He has been married to wife Donna for 43 years. The couple has two children, Christi Richardson Hucks who has been married to Robert Hucks for 15 years and Christopher Jason Richardson, age 36. Christi and Robert Hucks have two children, Riles age 12 and Winston age 10. All three generations are products of Horry County Schools.
The Richardson and Hucks families have long histories of being involved in public affairs as elected officials, appointed officials and judgeships in Horry County.
Richardson attended Conway High School and was a member of the first integrated football team at the school. He was the smallest player on the team and the coach credited his determination with helping him win a spot.
After graduating from Conway High School, Richardson attended Horry Georgetown Technical College.
While studying at Horry Georgetown Technical College, Richardson was hired as a salesman at Fowler Motors beginning a 40 year career at the car dealership. Beginning the month he was hired, Richardson ran a string of 57 straight months as Salesman of the Month for the dealership before being moved to management. In 1998, Richardson purchased the dealership from Mr. Fowler and was the owner of the only Mercedes, BMW and Cadillac dealership under one roof in the country. He sold the dealership in 2009 to semi-retire and to concentrate more time on his passion – education.
Quality education has always been a passion of Richardson’s. He served four years on the Coastal Carolina University Advisory Board, 20 years on the Horry Georgetown Technical College Board of Trustees, 16 as Chairman. Richardson was elected in 2018 as Chairman of the Horry County School Board. He is the only man in the history of South Carolina to have been Chairman of the Board of both a K – 12 school district and a college.
Richardson is currently Chairman of the Horry County Board of Education and Chairman Emeritus of the Horry Georgetown Technical College Board, a member of the Conway High School Alumni Hall of Fame and the Richardson Art Gallery at Horry Georgetown Technical College is named in his honor.
In 2018, Richardson ran for elected office for the first time, seeking the office of Chairman of the Horry County Board of Education. He was opposed by an incumbent board member and retired teacher in the Republican Primary. Richardson swamped his primary opponents collecting 71.2% of the votes cast. His win was so impressive, the declared Democratic candidate dropped out before the general election leaving Richardson unopposed in November 2018. Although unopposed in Horry County, Richardson garnered more total votes in Horry County than either Governor Henry McMaster or Seventh Congressional District Representative Tom Rice in what is considered a ‘down ticket’ race. Horry County voters comprise 51% of the total registered voters in the Seventh Congressional District.
Richardson initially intended to complete his four year term as school board chairman and then challenge Tom Rice for the Republican nomination for the S. C. Seventh Congressional District in the 2024 primary election.
However, after Rice cast his vote in the House to impeach President Donald Trump on January 13, 2021, Richardson immediately advanced his Congressional campaign by two years. Richardson immediately stated publicly that he believed Rice stabbed President Trump in the back and that he (Richardson) would have never voted to impeach the president.
Richardson announced his candidacy for the Seventh Congressional District Republican nomination on February 3, 2021. By the time he announced, Richardson had already filed his candidacy with the Federal Election Commission, opened a campaign account and hired campaign staff. As of this date, he is the only Republican candidate to do so. Two Republican state legislators have announced they have opened exploratory committees to determine whether they should run, but neither has officially filed with the Federal Election Commission and neither has taken a public stance on Rice’s vote to impeach.
Richardson is a lifelong conservative. As school board chairman he led the decision to sue the City of Myrtle Beach for misappropriating $20 million in a tax increment financing fund that was initially earmarked for a new public school but the city decided to use for its own needs. The lawsuit is currently in negotiations to settle with the school board expected to recover the $20 million.
Richardson and his wife were active supporters and campaigners for President Trump in both the 2016 and 2020 Presidential elections. Donna Richardson volunteered for a fund raising campaign in Orlando, Florida which raised $25 million for the president’s campaign in 24 hours.
Richardson said he is a firm believer in the principles advocated by President Trump with respect to immigration, abortion, Second Amendment rights and creating jobs for Americans. If elected to replace Rice in Congress, Richardson’s votes will follow his conservative principles.
“Join the 7000 Voices to take back the 7th Congressional District seat for real Republican values,” Richardson said. “Go to my website, KenforCongress.com”, for more information and to sign up.”
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