Meet Joe Jernigan, a Libertarian for South Carolina’s House of Representatives

Joe Jernigan is running for office as a Libertarian candidate for South Carolina’s House of Representatives. He hopes to represent District 111, which includes much of Charleston and lower North Charleston. A native of North Charleston, Jernigan hopes to bring common-sense reforms to his community.

GoodParty.org spoke with Jernigan to learn more about his campaign for South Carolina’s state legislature and his decision to run for office independently of the two-party system.

An Alternative in an Often-Uncontested District

South Carolina’s 111th state legislative district has been represented by the same Democratic representative, Wendell Gilliard, since 2008. Prior to that, Gilliard served on Charleston’s city council from 1997 to 2008 — making 2024 his 27th year in local government.

Since 2008, most of the elections to represent District 111 in South Carolina’s House of Representatives have gone uncontested. In 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2022, Gilliard was the only candidate on the ballot for this position. This means that voters were left without any real choice at the ballot box.

By running for office, Jernigan has stepped up to provide a meaningful alternative for voters in his district. 

Jernigan cited current politicians’ failure to address voters’ needs as one of the reasons he decided to run for office.

“Ever since high school, I dreamed of being able to represent my fellow citizens and give them better outcomes,” Jernigan said. “I’ve been watching my entire life at the federal and state levels as politicians say one thing and do another, or advocate for their own causes rather than the causes that will benefit the people.

“It’s something I’ve wanted to do for about the past 10 years, and now I feel I’m in the position, knowledge- and experience-wise, to show the people that I can provide them better outcomes than the ones they’re being offered now.”

As a third-party candidate for the state legislature, Jernigan is positioning himself as an alternative to the status quo in local politics.

A Conservative Libertarian for South Carolina

On May 4, 2024, Jernigan advanced from the Libertarian Party convention. He is now moving forward to compete as a Libertarian candidate in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Jernigan said he has always considered himself to be a conservative Libertarian, though he only recently became an official member of the Libertarian Party. Part of his desire to affiliate with the Libertarian Party was inspired by congressman Ron Paul’s presidential campaigns in 2008 and 2012.

“I’ve always considered myself a conservative Libertarian, even though I have voted Republican [for Ron Paul], because Ron Paul is extremely Libertarian and he was a Republican,” Jernigan said. “He opened my eyes to what could be done if a party or a group would just get behind the correct ideas. And of course, like Bernie on the left side, they shoved him out.”

After the 2020 presidential election, Jernigan decided that he was officially done with the Republican Party and voting for the lesser of two evils.

“I wanted to wipe my hands clean, and I officially got involved with the Libertarian Party because they stand on principles. No matter what the situation or the scenario is, they stand on their principles,” Jernigan said.

Now, as a Libertarian candidate, Jernigan gets to stand up for the values he truly believes in.

“I call myself a conservative Libertarian because I very much support the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights. I think they are by far the best legal guarantors of protection of equal rights, of life, liberty, and property, in the history of mankind,” Jernigan said. “I know that if we uphold them, we can actually have the country that we all aspire to have.”

This political philosophy influences Jernigan’s priorities for his time in office.

“I want to do things that are common sense that everybody can get behind, things that positively affect everybody’s lives, like lowering taxes, lessening regulations that create barriers to entry, and making sure that we have safety without overfunding. I’m trying to get as many people as I can from the left and from the right to come together and see if we can make some positive change for South Carolina,” Jernigan said.

Addressing Local Issues in the Charleston Metro Area

Jernigan listed some of his top policy priorities as affordable housing, public safety, and addressing the Charleston metropolitan area’s heavy traffic and congestion. Cost of living is a top priority for Jernigan’s campaign.

“A lot of this stuff, people already agree and actually want. They just haven’t had somebody pushing for these things,” Jernigan said. “My analysis is that people in both parties become captured. Whether they want to do things or they’re prevented from doing things, they are either captured or prevented from making the change that is necessary.”

Jernigan said he has been personally affected by the Charleston area’s local issues, especially those of traffic, congestion, and pedestrian safety.

“I used to work with somebody who unfortunately passed away because he was riding his bike and was hit,” Jernigan said. “It was on a road on Johns Island, and they do not have a sidewalk or biking infrastructure on the road that he got hit on.

“This is something that actually touches people’s lives here. If you ask people who have lived around this area, they’ve heard about people getting hit on bicycles or people getting hit on crosswalks, because we do not have the proper safety infrastructure when it comes to cars and self-transportation.”

Having grown up in North Charleston and worked on Johns Island, Jernigan said he is no stranger to the area’s most pressing issues.

“There are a lot of local issues that we can work on that are very specific to my area and that I personally face,” he said. “I drive to work every day from Monday to Friday to Johns Island, so I know about the traffic congestion. I know about the problems with not being able to get places on time. Stuff like that has informed my campaign, because I’m now able to propose policies that can help fix those problems.”

Overall, Jernigan said he is passionate about serving his community and finding real solutions to people’s problems.

“I’m passionate about being a servant leader for the people around me. I want to facilitate people’s prosperity, so being a servant leader is what I’m passionate about. I don’t mind serving the people because that’s literally what I want to do,” Jernigan said.

Running for Office as a GoodParty.org Certified Candidate

In addition to running for office as a Libertarian candidate, Jernigan is also running as a GoodParty.org Certified candidate. This means he has agreed to GoodParty.org’s pledge to campaign as an independent, people-powered, and anti-corruption candidate. He has pledged to serve the people in his district, not big-money donors or special interests.

Being a GoodParty.org Certified candidate also means that Jernigan has had access to GoodParty.org’s suite of free campaign tools and resources. These include AI campaign content generators, voter insights, and access to a nationwide community of independent candidates and volunteers.

Jernigan said he has benefited from using GoodParty.org’s free campaign tools.

“When it comes to the online tools, those are amazing. When it comes to the tracking of [campaign activities], I absolutely love those tools,” Jernigan said. “The thing that I love the most and that I think is the most helpful for campaigns is the AI tools. When it comes to the tools, I really hope that more people will sign up for them and use them.”

Want to follow along with Jernigan’s campaign and learn how you can get involved? Check out Jernigan’s campaign profile on X here.

You can also join GoodParty.org’s movement to support independent candidates like Jernigan across the United States and stay up-to-date with the latest news from the independent movement.