Amid mounting legal drama, candidate for SC governor tells voters not to write him off
Sen. Josh Kimbrell is seen during a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting in Columbia, South Carolina, March 15, 2022. Kimbrell, running for governor, told voters not to count him out, even though a trial has overshadowed his campaign. (File photo by Travis Bell/STATEHOUSE CAROLINA)
State Sen. Josh Kimbrell said voters shouldn’t vote him out, even though a lawsuit from a former business partner has overshadowed his bid for the South Carolina governor’s mansion.
Kimbrell, in a 21-minute Facebook video, called the months of legal drama that have dogged him since his campaign began “the most difficult time of my life since I’ve been on the planet.”
In an interview with the SC Daily Gazette, Kimbrell later called his former business partner, Frank Rogers, a “rabid narcissist” who destroyed his business and forced him to sell his home to pay his ongoing legal bills.
An attorney for Rogers did not return phone calls from the SC Daily Gazette on Thursday.
The legal drama began two weeks after Kimbrell was appointed governor in June. Rogers sued him, alleging the lawmaker embezzled more than $2 million from their joint business and used the money for personal and campaign expenses.
Kimbrell denied the allegations and filed a countersuit for defamation.
Now the Boiling Springs Republican is urging voters not to rule him out of the five-way Republican primary, despite his low profile and almost nonexistent fundraising compared to other candidates.
“Anyone who considers me irrelevant does so at their own risk,” he told the SC Daily Gazette.
Kimbrell highlighted his history of co-sponsoring anti-abortion and tax-cut laws and said he would further prove himself to voters in the upcoming legislative session.
But what the former conservative Christian radio host is probably best known for are two special budget rules: one threatening to cut off state funding for public libraries unless they restrict children’s access to books deemed inappropriate and another withdrawing funds from any city that bans so-called conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ minors.
Exodus Plane
In addition to his radio career, Kimbrell founded Exodus Aircraft, a company that charters private flights, in 2017. Five years later, Rogers purchased half of the company’s stock, according to his July lawsuit.
Kimbrell said he was in the process of selling the company when Rogers sued him. Rogers, in court filings, claims he was not adequately informed of the proposed sale.
Kimbrell told the SC Daily Gazette that he believed, after Rogers sued him, that Rogers would soon “destroy” the company and wanted to sever ties as soon as possible.
He agreed to resign and turn over all Exodus business records in anticipation of a countersuit.
In a dueling lawsuit, several Exodus investors filed a lawsuit, alleging that Rogers had full knowledge of the impending sale and blew up the deal by orchestrating a “hostile takeover.”
About two weeks after Rogers filed the lawsuit, he and Kimbrell signed an agreement stating that Kimbrell would resign from Exodus Aircraft and relinquish all of the company’s assets and business records. Rogers’ lawyers argued in recent filings that Kimbrell failed to comply with the terms of that agreement. They alleged that Kimbrell contacted former Exodus employees and investors and failed to turn over all business documents requested by Rogers’ lawyers.
Meanwhile, the legal mess continues to worsen as Rogers and Kimbrell each seek to drag more people and companies into the fray. A judge will hear arguments Friday on potential new parties to the lawsuit.
According to recent quarterly fundraising reports, Kimbrell raised $23,000 for his gubernatorial bid. Three of his Republican competitors raised more than $1 million; the fourth raised more than $800,000.
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