Upstate businessman to run for recently vacated S.C. House District 17 seat

TRAVELERS REST, S.C. – Republican businessman Mike Burns announced today he will file to run in the special election to fill the S.C. House District 17 seat left vacant by the recent resignation of Tom Corbin.

Corbin was elected to both a House and Senate seat in the general election on Nov. 6. He resigned the House seat Nov. 12 to become a State Senator.

A Travelers Rest native, Burns, 60, said he appreciated the previous leadership provided by Corbin and wants to represent his neighbors of northern Greenville County. He said he decided to seek the House seat “to both serve and stand up with common sense with smaller, but smarter, government”.

Burns has spent three decades building six businesses, according to campaign officials. He and his wife, Anne, have four children and three grandchildren.

Filing for the open seat begins Nov. 30 and closes Dec. 10, according to the State Election Commission. Primaries will be Jan. 22, with runoffs, if needed, set for Feb. 5. The special election will be March 12*.

S.C. House District 17 covers much of northern Greenville County.

Related on the Tribune:

Local Election Results: Fair, Gowdy, Corbin, Grayson, Bush win

S.C. Senator Phillip Shoopman will not seek re-election, Rep. Corbin to run for seat

(*Editor's note: The filing dates, primary date, runoff date and special election date are correct as of Nov. 14, but could change if election officials deem it necessary.)